April 1, 2002
The Honorable Dede Alpert, Chair
Joint Committee to Develop a Master
Plan for Education
State Capitol, Room 5050
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Professional Personnel Development
Working Group Final Report
Dear Senator Alpert:
On behalf of the California State University
(CSU), I am pleased to provide you and the members of the Joint Master
Plan Committee with the CSU’s response to the Final Report of the Professional
Personnel Development Working Group (PPD Final Report).
The goals of this working group – that
every student will have the opportunity to learn from a fully qualified
teacher or faculty member; and that the state will ensure a sufficient
supply of teachers, faculty and administrators with the qualifications
necessary to promote student learning – are central tenets of the CSU’s
commitment to prepare high quality teachers and administrators. During
the past year, the CSU produced 59 percent of the new teachers prepared
in California. At the same time, CSU provided leadership in new and ongoing
initiatives to assure that the quality of the teachers it prepares is at
the highest possible level. And yet for all these efforts, as well as those
of the University of California and the state’s independent and private
universities, the state’s classrooms are still not filled with fully prepared
and qualified teachers.
Thus, the focus of this working group
may well become the single most important feature of the Master Plan that
the joint committee has been charged with preparing. A cadre of well-prepared
and qualified teachers and administrators is the engine which will make
the educational enterprise run smoothly, and the success of the Master
Plan as a whole will depend in large part on the state’s ability to achieve
the goals that underscore the mission of this working group. Given the
mission of the CSU and the role the system plays in preparing the state’s
teachers, we stand ready to work with the committee and the citizens of
California to achieve those goals and ensure the success of the new Master
Plan.
In that spirit, CSU offers the following
comments pertaining to the specific recommendations in the PPD Report that
affect our ongoing activities in professional personnel development. We
do not mean to imply that the recommendations not addressed in this letter
are not involved in our work – as the process to develop a Master Plan
continues, we may offer additional reaction to those items.
State/Regional Issues
Recommendation #1: Place
responsibility for coordination of K-12 professional personnel development
activities in the Governor’s Office through the Office of the Secretary
for Education.
The CSU supports this recommendation
and believes that the framework proposed – the establishment of an advisory
body with representatives from all segments of the education policy community
– is an appropriate means to ensure the coordination and accountability
of existing efforts.
Recommendation #2: Create
an independent entity that is responsible for collecting data related to
teaching and school administration, and evaluating programs and initiatives.
The creation of an independent entity
for these operations is supported by the CSU. It is critical, however,
that such an entity have proper oversight and that it include a mechanism
for input and participation from the education segments. In addition, it
is important that the entity survey existing data sources as well as program
evaluation efforts prior to embarking on a "master plan" for such activities.
The CSU supports the concept of a tracking system as well as development
and implementation of a statewide system that follows those who have completed
teacher education program to schools and classrooms in which they are teaching.
Assembly Bill 1570, signed by Governor Davis in 1999, represented the first
step towards creating a comprehensive data base, one which supports longitudinal
studies of individual students. The CSU has actively participated in this
development process.
However, CSU General Counsel has frequently
advised that the use of Social Security numbers for such purposes is problematic
given federal and state privacy law, so this aspect of the system may require
additional attention. Finally, we would note that an annual evaluation
of teacher education programs has been initiated by the CSU. We strongly
urge that any new state entity capitalize on objective evaluation activities
that have been started and support those actions, rather than recreate
a new evaluation system.
Recommendation #3: Forge
voluntary partnerships to provide program coordination, evaluation, monitoring
and intervention at the local level.
As outlined in the report, such partnerships
would organize efforts at personnel preparation and professional development
among local districts and higher education institutions that serve their
area and match district needs with university program offerings.
Collaboration with K-12 schools is
a critical component of the CSU’s commitment to prepare high quality teachers.
Each CSU teacher preparation program has significantly increased and expanded
the number of partnerships with school districts, including intern to full
credential programs, teacher aide to full credential programs, and induction
programs to provide support for new teachers and lifelong professional
development programs that include district and teacher organization participation.
One example of such a program, the
Los Angeles-based collaborative Design for Excellence Linking Teaching
and Achievement Initiative (DELTA), involves four CSU campuses (Los
Angeles, Northridge, Dominguez Hills, and Long Beach), and provides schools
with pre-service, in-service, and professional development activities for
district teachers. The collaborative (which partners with schools in Los
Angeles, Pasadena, and Long Beach) has provided a continuum of teacher
development, through eight field-based Professional Development Centers
coordinated by university faculty members and exemplary K-12 teachers.
During 2000-01, DELTA activities included more than 4,700 teachers in 107
urban schools with 97,000 students. DELTA has had a major influence in
the redesign of accelerated and field-based teacher preparation programs,
the result being campus programs that are more closely aligned to the needs
of an urban, diverse pupil population.
K-12 Professional Personnel Development
Recommendation #4: The state
should require that all teachers are adequately prepared prior to assuming
responsibility for a classroom.
The CSU supports this common-sense
recommendation. As the report notes, alternative routes into teaching serve
a valuable function, but exist in dynamic tension with the move towards
standards-based programs. Multiple pathways are especially valuable in
times of critical shortage, such as that which exists now, but the state
should maintain complete preparation prior to teaching as priority. One
example of a program with this goal is the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship
Program, which encourages highly qualified prospective teachers to teach
in low-performing schools for at least four years after attaining
their teaching credential.
Embedded within this recommendation
are several options to contend with the proliferation of emergency permit
teacher in recent years. At CSU, the CalStateTEACH program is designed
for exactly this purpose, and can serve as a model for future programs
to achieve this goal. The program, an alternative path to the Multiple
Subject Credential, maximizes the use of available technology. It is based
on self-study with the availability of online, print, and CD-ROM materials,
web-based "class discussions," and on-site coaching by CSU faculty. Interest
in the program has increased signficantly in recent years; for instance,
more than 800 interns were enrolled in CalStateTEACH during 2000-01, up
from 400 the year before. In March 2001, 133 students became the first
to complete the program and become fully credentialed teachers.
Recommendation #4.2: The
state should increase the capacity of California’s higher education systems
to prepare larger numbers of educators for the public schools.
The CSU supports this recommendation,
in particular the notion of targeting shortage areas for expansion. We
would also suggest the value of referencing successful undergraduate blended
teacher preparation programs, which have become an important resource in
the quest to meet the need for fully trained classroom teachers. The CSU
has well-established undergraduate blended programs that provide multiple
entry points, a system of application and early advisement, subject matter/teacher
preparation integration, early field experiences for candidates, and local
district participation.
Recommendation #5.3: The
state should ensure that teacher preparation, induction and ongoing professional
development include a focus on teaching in urban settings and teaching
children who bring particular challenges to the learning environment.
Two examples of such programs are the
Urban Learning blended teacher preparation program at CSU, Los Angeles,
and the SERVE program at CSU, Long Beach, which places 600 undergraduate
future teachers a semester in diverse, urban classrooms as literacy tutors.
Recommendation #6: The state,
regional entities and local school districts must redesign their professional
development activities as well as invest more of their resources in human
capital development.
An example of a program that was developed
in the spirit of this recommendation is the Educational Technology Professional
Development Program, coordinated and administered by the CSU, which provides
intensive school staff development in the use of technology in the K-12
classroom.
Recommendation #7: The state
must redouble its efforts to diversify the educational workforce.
At the CSU, the purpose of the Teacher
Recruitment Project (TRP) is to attract potential educators from underrepresented
groups, creating a teaching force as diverse as today’s classrooms. For
the past 13 years, allocations from lottery funds have provided the resources
for the CSU campus TRPs to establish pipelines of future teachers within
their service regions. These pipelines take a variety of forms, and have
been designed to respond to unique regional characteristics, target multiple
audiences, and include strategies that have proven successful in recruiting
underrepresented students to teaching.
Recommendation #7.1: Enhance
the role of community colleges in teacher preparation.
The May 2000 Memorandum of Understanding
between the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the CSU specifically
addresses the role each system plays in meeting the critical need for qualified
teachers. The CCCs have the opportunity to participate in the pre-preparation
experience for students who indicate an intent to enter the field of teaching
by offering such courses as "Introduction to Teaching" and early field
experiences in classroom settings.
This section of the report includes
a recommendation for removing the limitation of the six unit ceiling for
the transfer of units in teacher education from community colleges to the
CSU. We wish to note that this limit applies only to professional preparation
courses, for which the community college does not currently employ faculty
with this specialization and/or expertise. In addition, admission policies
to these programs are governed by state accreditation standards, for which
the credentialing institution is fully responsible for upholding.
Community colleges currently offer
many options in subject matter coursework, aligned with the K-12 Academic
Content Standards, that are fully transferable to the CSU. The 6-unit limit
was recently raised to its current level, to allow community colleges that
wish to offer early fieldwork experience courses, as well as Education
Introduction courses, to have these units transferable. While we do not
believe there is a current need to revise this policy, the CSU has stated
that transfer students make up the largest percentage of future teachers,
and we will work with the CCC to ensure that transfer students are treated
exactly the same as students enrolling in our CSU campus undergraduate
programs with the intention of becoming teacher education candidates.
Recommendation #7.2: The
state should expand outreach efforts to targeted groups.
The CSU believes it is also important
to expand academic preparation programs targeting students who are disadvantaged
educationally and economically, who are enrolled in public K-12 schools
that have low-college going rates, and who need assistance in strengthening
basic skills in math and English. In many instances, this academic preparation
is equally important as outreach.
The CSU/K-12 Collaborative Academic
Preparation Initiative (CAPI) represents an initiative to ensure that students
develop the skills necessary to enter directly into CSU baccalaureate-level
courses without the need to enroll in remedial courses.
Recommendation #8.1.2: The
Legislature could create an advanced teaching credential that recognizes
exceptional teaching and authorizes advanced services in instructional
leadership within schools.
The CSU continues to support the concept
of an advanced teaching credential, which was recommended by the final
report of the Senate Bill 1422 Panel. This is an important step to ensure
the expert training of those teachers entrusted with critical professional
roles in working with novice colleagues. Such roles include serving as
master teachers to student teachers, support providers in induction and
intern programs, mentor teachers, and professional development advisors.
Recommendation #9: Local
school districts and higher education institutions should develop partnerships
to recruit, prepare and train quality principals.
The CSU believes that it is essential
to develop leadership programs which are standards-based and outcomes-driven.
Partnerships that include higher education and local education agencies
have been productive and supported by foundations, the CSU, and local school
districts. Higher education and school districts must partner in the development,
implementation, and evaluation of preparation programs for school administrators.
The CSU and the Association of California
School Administrators (ACSA) are developing a collaborative program to
increase the number of educators prepared to become school principals,
to ensure that all principals are qualified to lead schools in which teachers
and students perform at the very highest levels.
Professional Development in Colleges and Universities
Recommendation #10:
Increase the capability of California colleges and universities
to attract and hire qualified faculty members (by a variety of means).
The CSU has benefited from programs that were funded by the legislature
to increase capacity. Professional development initiatives helped campus
programs to increase the numbers of faculty directly involved with preparing
teachers for California. CSU urges the committee to consider future initiatives
of this nature that will directly support the recruitment and retention
of college and university personnel in teacher education and subject matter
preparation.
Recommendation #12: Commission a study to evaluate the impact
of the increasing utilization of temporary faculty (full-time and part-time)
that examines (1) the depth of the preparation of temporary faculty in
teaching strategies/student learning; (2) the impact of temporary faculty
on student outcomes and advisement; and (3) the impact of temporary faculty
on the ability of tenure track faculty to fulfill all other responsbilities
and expectations.
Assembly Concurrent Resolution 73 (Strom-Martin, et al.), among other
provisions, urged the CSU to develop a plan, in consultation with the CSU
Academic Senate and the California Faculty Association, to raise the percentage
of tenured and tenure track faculty to at least 75 percent.
Pursuant to the resolution, the CSU has conducted a study of the use
of temporary faculty that will be released later this month. This study
identifies the reasons why CSU relies upon a strong cadre of temporary
faculty. The ability to use lecturers enables permanent tenured and tenure
track faculty to take sabbaticals, get release time for service activities,
and participate in the CSU’s Faculty Early Retirement Program. Lecturers
also help to smooth the transitions between separations and new appointments,
and they provide a ready workforce when new enrollment growth funding becomes
available. More importantly, lecturers who have full-time employment outside
of the CSU bring their valuable experience as practitioners into the classroom.
The CSU will be sharing the results of this study with the committee
and all members of the Legislature shortly. We hope that it will help inform,
if not resolve, many of the concerns of the working group which led to
this recommendation.
Recommendation #14: Develop
new and expanded education doctorate programs in the public sector in collaboration
with K-12 educational leaders and community colleges.
Recommendation #14.1: The
UC and CSU should report yearly on education doctorate progress, timelines
and other accountability mechanisms such as number of students served,
student satisfaction, and accreditation status.
The CSU strongly supports these recommendations,
but would note the value of these programs in preparing leaders for K-12
schools as well as at community colleges. As the members of the committee
are likely aware, CSU and UC have recently reached an agreement that will
provide for expanded joint education doctorate programs that will be designed
to meet the very goals outlined in Recommendation #14.
In conclusion, the CSU commends the
working group for their efforts in identifying the key professional personnel
development issues facing the state, and hopes that this initial response
is useful in the committee’s ongoing deliberations. We look forward to
working with the members and staff of the committee, and providing additional
information and feedback, as the process continues.
Sincerely yours,
Karen Y. Zamarripa
Assistant Vice Chancellor
cc: Members, Joint Legislative Master
Plan Committee
Gary Hart, Chair, Professional Personnel
Development Working Group
Stephen G. Blake, Chief Consultant,
Joint Legislative Master Plan Committee
Alva Johnson, Consultant, Professional
Personnel Development Working Group