Teacher Education Advisory Committee

A Teacher Education Advisory Committee composed of representatives from public and private IHEs and UNC-General Administration has been developed to provide advice to the Teacher Education Section at DPI. They have a meeting scheduled this month. Agenda items include the new master's degree programs and the rewards and sanctions based on the IHE Performance Reports mandated by the Excellent Schools Act.

Ad Hoc Program Approval Revision Committee

An ad hoc committee has been named to assist in the revision of the program approval process. The committee contains representatives from public and private IHEs. Their next meeting is scheduled for January 15th.

New Guidelines and Competencies--Elementary Communication Skills

This fall the State Board of Education adopted new guidelines and competencies for the Communication Skills component of the Elementary Education guidelines and competencies. Please review your programs against these new guidelines and competencies to ensure they are in compliance.

As you engage in the ongoing review your programs, we would encourage you to consider ways in which you might strengthen and enhance the preparation of prospective elementary education teachers to teach reading.

New Licensure Fees Approved

Licensure fee increases were approved by the General Assembly and become effective January 1, 1999. The new fees are reflected in the following table.

License Request	Examples	Fee
Demographic/Administrative Changes   Request for a Duplicate License   Copies of Documents from the Licensure Files	Name change   Address change	$30.00
Renewals or Extensions   Additions, Upgrades, Variations to a License	Additional experience   Master's degrees   Extending provisional licenses   Validating expired licenses	$55.00
Initial applications for new in-state approved program graduates	New in-state applications	$55.00
Initial out-of-state applications   All other applications	"All Other Applications" include JROTC, lateral entry, vocational	$85.00

New Licensure Requirements

You will receive additional licensure changes (e.g., changes in the lateral entry policy resulting from Senate Bill 1124) after they are approved by the State Board of Education. Some licensure changes needing your immediate attention and highlighting follow:

Students who complete your approved teacher education 9-12 programs in English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies can be issued 6-9 licenses in the same area upon employment by a school system in a middle grades position. Previously, these students were required to successfully complete one year of teaching in the middle grades to be issued the 6-9 license.

Individuals who hold a 6-9 license in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, or Social Studies and have satisfied the Praxis requirements for the first area who seek to add a second 6-9 area to their license do not need to complete additional Praxis requirements for the second area.

Individuals who hold a license in LD, EMH, S/P, BEH, and Cross-Categorical and have satisfied the Praxis requirements for the first area who seek to add licensure in another of these areas to their license do not need to complete additional Praxis requirements for the second area.

Changes in Praxis Requirements

At its December meeting, the State Board of Education approved the changes in Praxis requirements for 3 middle grades licensure areas and 5 exceptional children licensure areas with implementation to begin July 1, 1999. During the "phase-in" period (July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000) students are required to take the new exams, but if unsuccessful in meeting the "passing" scores may elect to take the currently approved exams. Effective July 1, 2000 the new tests are required for these licensure areas. The new exams are detailed on the enclosed table. Students in these licensure areas choosing to take the new exams this spring may do so.

Institutional results for the Spring 1998 administration of the Essential Technology Skills Inventory (ETSI) are now released. Objective information for each student and summary IHE and state results are provided.  At its December meeting, the State Board of Education approved the following recommendations relative to the technology assessment for preservice teachers:
 
1.     For licensure purposes, require colleges/universities to verify that candidates have
        met the technology requirement through:

• completion of a technology product of learning that is evaluated by a panel of faculty
• inclusion of the score on the multiple choice portion of the Essential Technology Skills Inventory (ETSI) in the product of learning

• a report on the scores of the multiple choice test
• results of the graduate and employer survey on technology competence of graduates

To discuss the implications of these recommendations, Kathy will meet with the deans/directors of the public universities on December 14th as part of the Dean's Council meeting scheduled for that day. She will meet with the deans/directors of the private colleges/universities on January 28th as part of the meeting Tim McDowell has scheduled for that day.
 
Endorsements

An endorsement allows the individual to teach up to half-time in the specialty area. An endorsement requires that the candidate to complete 18 semester hours of coursework in an approved teacher education program in the content area (e.g., English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, etc.). Candidates must follow the Teacher Education Program process for admission, retention, and exit.
 
Performance-Based Licensure (PBL)

Teachers seeking continuing licensure after July 1, 1998 come under the Performance- Based Licensure (PBL) process. Teachers must submit a portfolio designed around INTASC standards-- standards for new teachers. Persons across the state have been trained in evaluating PBL products/ artifacts.

Revisions to the Initial Licensure Program

Revisions to the Initial Licensure Program (ILP), originally implemented in 1985, have been approved by the State Board of Education. Changes include:

• extending the initial licensure period from two years to three years.
• focusing on beginning teachers, rather than all certified staff.
• requiring local education agencies (school systems) to submit annual reports on their Initial Licensure Programs, rather than submitting their ILP plans annually. As part of their annual reports, school systems will be asked to briefly describe the involvement of IHEs in the program. In the past, IHEs have "signed" ILP plans, but from most reports, have not been substantively involved in the program. You may want to contact school systems in your area to determine how you might become more involved in supporting beginning teachers if you are not doing so already.
• standardized surveys that will be given to all beginning teachers, their mentor teachers, and their principals. These surveys will provide information on the ILP program and the preparation of teacher education program graduates.
• The ILT (Initially Licensed Teacher) surveys will be used to gather information on the satisfaction of teacher education program completers as mandated by the Excellent Schools Act for inclusion in the IHE Performance Report.

 

The Excellent Schools Act directed the State Board of Education to develop new standards and guidelines for the evaluation of certified school personnel. New standards and guidelines were adopted in May, 1998. The standards should be useful to you as part of your on-going program review and evaluation. We are currently in the process of awarding contracts to develop validated instruments reflecting these standards and guidelines.

NCATE Update

As indicated in the September Update, a meeting was held with NCATE officials to explore the possibility of moving the next cycle of NCATE visits back to allow IHEs to focus on all of the program revisions having to be made in response to the ESA and other initiatives. Since that meeting, a formal request to delay the next (second continuing) cycle of visits for one year has been approved by NCATE. We must now take the request to the State Board of Education for its review and (hopefully) approval. If approved, institutions would have the option of delaying the next (second continuing) visit for one year without negatively impacting the subsequent cycle (i.e., if the visit is successful, the following visit would be five years and not four years later). This item will be placed on the State Board of Education agenda for discussion in January and action in February.

Prospective Teacher Scholarship Loan Program

Students pursuing teacher licensure at your institution, including those in licensure-only programs who do not hold a teaching license, are eligible to apply. The Program provides scholarship loans in the amount of $2500 per year to individuals enrolled full-time in programs leading to licensure. Upon program completion recipients are obligated to teach in the public/charter schools of North Carolina to repay the scholarship loan.

To be eligible to receive this scholarship loan, individuals must be employed full-time as teacher assistants in North Carolina and have been formally admitted to an approved teacher education program. As part of their application, these individuals are required to submit official plans of study signed by the licensure officer/director of teacher education at your institution.

Revised Master's Degree Programs

The legislature and State Board of Education expect substantive revision of existing master's degree programs. In reviewing the programs submitted to date, panel members have specifically asked

• how the new programs are qualitatively different from the current programs,
• how practitioners were involved in the redesign of the programs, and
• how graduates of the new programs will be different from graduates of the current programs.