Bringing university field experience and P-12 partners together

KC Meeting of the Minds

How it all started:September 2014

Invitations sent to all area school districts and surrounding higher education institutions

Open forum to address current educational topics

Quoted research

• “Large programs of training, regardless of institutional setting, must recruit large numbers of teachers year in and year out to serve as cooperating or mentor teachers. Given the highly variable distribution of effective teachers and a general inability to reliably evaluate teaching practices, this probably means that some fraction of cooperating teachers are relatively ineffective, yet they serve as models and guides for new teachers who apprentice in their classrooms.”

Bird, T., Kennedy, M., & Sykes, G. (2010). Teacher education: its problems and some prospects. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(5), 464+.

• “In the United States, the reform of teacher preparation and of K-12 education have shared parallel and intertwined paths over the past five decades; however, a close examination of these initiatives reveals little coordination between the two streams.”

Futrell, M. H. (2010). Transforming teacher education to reform America's P-20 education system. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(5), 432+.

• “There is a direct link between teacher education programs, the quality of the teaching profession, and the viability of our education system. The quality of life and success of Americans, individually and collectively, are contingent upon how these three elements are melded together.”

Futrell, M. H. (2010). Transforming teacher education to reform America's P-20 education system. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(5), 432+.

• “The dramatic change needed will require a redefinition of teacher education, taking it beyond preservice preparation to include the ongoing support of teachers throughout their professional lives. Further, teacher education should be situated at the nexus between universities and schools--the place where theory and practice can come together. And finally, making these fundamental changes in teacher education will require that teacher educators in both school and university settings have the benefit of the type of on-going professional development that research has shown to be essential to consequential, long-lasting reform in schools.”

Rust, Frances O'Connell. "Shaping new models for teacher education." Teacher Education Quarterly 37.2 (2010): 5. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

First MeetingPurpose:

• Discuss our current reality and how we can collaboratively respond to our common goals.

• Address what we are facing in a proactive manner

• Create next steps to ensure future success

How can we:

• Respond to our current realities with true collaboration?

• Design mutually beneficial solutions?• Proactively “build” our future educators?• Embrace the changes and extend the

benefits?

Second Meeting

• Continued conversation• Established regional needs• Opened door for shared understanding of

CAEP requirementsRequest sheetInvitation to HR meeting

Further discussion at 2nd meeting

• Adding information about other considerations for placements:

• Background checks• TB tests/health forms• Fingerprints• District security measures• Division of Family Services• Family Care Safety Registry

• Incentivizing Districts to work with Universities:

• $$• District rewards• College credit• Professional development credit• Professional development conference

Results?Amazing!

Progress:

Creating a electronic standardized request sheet

Invited to present at metro HR directors meeting on CAEP standards

Doors are now open to many of the concepts CAEP requires

Next Steps: Continue to meet 1 to 2 times each semester

Keep our Parking Lot of ideas and strategies

Continue the conversations to continually build the collaboration that has begun

Next meeting

Meeting of the MindsTuesday, April 14, 2015

Noon to 2 pm

Location TBD!