META Alternate Licensure Program for Special Education Teachers

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META Alternate Licensure Program for Special
Education Teachers

• Terry Dozier, Director
• VCU Center for Teacher Leadership
• Wednesday, May 24, 2006
• National Comprehensive Center
• for Teacher Quality

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Metropolitan Educational Training Alliance (META)
February 2001
Hanover County Schools
Chesterfield County Schools
META
VCUs School of Education
Henrico County Schools
Richmond City Schools
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META provides a framework for its partners to. . .

• identify needs and opportunities for
  collaborative professional development
  activities
• plan and to implement professional development
  activities
• share information and resources and
• seek additional resources necessary to carry out
  activities.

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META Projects

• Developing Teacher Leaders -- focused on
  recruiting and supporting teachers who seek
  advanced certification through the National Board
  for Professional Teaching Standards
• Developing Future Teachers Out of the Ranks of
  Instructional Assistants -- focused on
  instructional assistants with a bachelors degree
  who want to be special education teachers
• Ensuring Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals
  partnership with JSRCC to help paraprofessionals
  meet federal requirements
• META Teacher Development and Retention Project
  five year federal grant to improve the
  preparation and retention of teachers in the
  metro-Richmond area targeted to the highest need
  schools

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META Alternate Licensure Program for Special
Education

• Targets instructional aides in META schools.
• Works with cohorts of students over 6 semesters
  (Summer Year 1 through Spring Year 2 21 months)
• Provides Year 1 coursework while serving as an
  instructional aide
• Offers Year 2 seminars while serving as the
  teacher of record

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META Roles and Responsibilities

• VCU shall
• Provide a cohort program with a prescribed
  sequence of courses.
• Offer all courses to participants at the
  off-campus course rate.
• Allow participants the opportunity to earn an
  M.Ed. degree by allowing up to 15 credit hours
  from the cohort program to count toward the M.Ed.
  degree

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META Roles and Responsibilities

• Participating school systems shall
• Identify and recommend qualified instructional
  aides for the META program.
• Provide a list of qualified and willing
  instructors to teach
• TEDU 500 Language and Reading Disabilities
• TEDU 681 Investigation and Trends in
• Teaching Special Education Law
• TEDU 500 Seminar I
• TEDU 500 Seminar II

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META Roles and Responsibilities

• Participants shall
• Have a contract as an instructional aide with one
  of the four META school divisions.
• Be employed as a special education instructional
  aide during the first year of the program.
• Take the prescribed courses as a cohort and sign
  up only for META-specified courses or course
  sections.

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Results to Date

• 42 instructional aides have participated in the
  META Alternate Licensure Program for Special
  Education since its inception in 2002.
• 35 have been hired by the META divisions.
• 3 graduates have been selected as the New
  Teacher of the Year for their schools

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Guidelines for Setting Up Effective Alternative
Route Programs

• Establish planning committee that should include
• person who will oversee the program?
• faculty members who will likely teach courses to
  participants?
• representative from the Deans Office?
• representative from the district personnel
  office?
• principals from partnering districts
• Assess districts need for qualified teachers
  --be very specific in terms of subject areas and
  candidate characteristics

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Guidelines for Setting Up Effective Alternative
Route Programs

• Set goals Specify the numbers and types of
  teachers program aims to produce
• Identify pool from which you will draw new
  recruits
• Publicize program
• Select candidates
• Adapt teacher education curriculum to
• value diversity?
• build bridges between home and school
• prepare candidates to be role models?
• make connections between theory and practice?
• improve knowledge of content

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Guidelines for Setting Up Effective Alternative
Route Programs

• Meet the needs of participants by
• giving credit for experience?
• addressing potential barriers to student
  teaching?
• expanding course offerings
• providing financial incentives (scholarships that
  pay tuition, fees, and books are essential)?

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Guidelines for Setting Up Effective Alternative
Route Programs

• Support participants through
• consistent academic advising or monitoring?
• academic tutoring
• preparation for certification exams
• classroom supervision and feedback?
• mentoring?
• cohort building?
• family support
• Calculate costs and promote efficiency

Ahead of the Class A Handbook for Preparing
New Teachers from New Sources, Clewell and
Villegas
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Questions?