News Highlights

'Transforming tomorrow's teachers' grant will strengthen public schools

Partnering with Sibley East, six others

Transforming tomorrow's teachers: Initiative will strengthen schools.

2009-12-18
Published in the Gaylord Hub, Gaylord, MN, 12/17/2009

It appears that an already successful relationship with Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) will only get stronger for Sibley East Schools.

MSU recently learned that it was one of 14 universities selected to receive grant money from the Bush Foundation. A total of $40 million in grant money was awarded. The “lion’s share” ($6.3 million) will go to MSU, according to Sibley East Superintendent Stephen Jones.

“The exciting part of this grant to MSU-Mankato is that Sibley East is one of the partner institutions, and the grant will definitely impact teacher preparation and continuing education for our current staff,” Jones said.

According to a news release from MSU, the Sibley East School District is one of seven area school systems partnering with MSU in a groundbreaking new Bush Foundation initiative to transform teacher preparation.

In the next 10 years, MSU’s College of Education will collaborate with Sibley East and its other partner schools to dramatically change how colleges and universities recruit, prepare, place and support new K-12 teachers. It also will guarantee the new teachers’ effectiveness, according to MSU representatives.

The new initiative is part of the Bush Foundation’s “goal for a decade” to increase educational achievement across Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Michael Miller, dean of MSU’s College of Education, said the grant money will give schools the opportunity to do more good things with students. By sharing resources, the University and the partnering schools can do even better work, Miller explained.

“We are thrilled to participate in this forward-looking Bush Foundation initiative,” Miller said. “When our students - the teachers of tomorrow - succeed, our children are well-served. Exceptional teachers create exceptional schools and strong communities.”

Sibley East, in some form, has partnered with MSU for approximately 20 years. According to Sibley East elementary principal Mari Lu Martens, student teachers acquired by the school are primarily from MSU. Sibley East has also used graduate fellows from MSU. Fellows fill in for Sibley East teachers on special assignment. Three MSU graduate fellows who worked here were eventually hired by Sibley East.

According to MSU officials, there are changes coming to the student teaching program. In the past, student teachers have completely taken over teaching duties for the master teacher for a period of time. Now, the focus will shift to the master teacher and student teacher working together. Research shows students perform better when the master and student teacher share resources.

Not only does the student teaching prepare MSU students, it also helps Sibley East. According to Martens, teachers here enjoy the connection with MSU. It helps them stay current with teaching practices and it gives them access to MSU resources.

MSU also partners with school systems in Faribault, Le Sueur-Henderson, Mankato, Owatonna, St. Peter and Waseca. By working with these schools, the University plans to create a pipeline of strong teacher candidates by aggressively identifying, involving, mentoring and advising candidates.

The program involves two years of school experience focusing on the real instructional needs of E-12 learners. Miller said nearly all MSU candidates’ school experience will involve instruction by teams of master teachers and faculty. He compared the process to the model used for recruiting star athletes.

The Bush Foundation asked the institutions to use three strategies to promote and support teacher effectiveness:

• Develop practical methods to measure teacher effectiveness, based on a strong foundation of knowledge from current research data and experience;
• Discover, invest in and use the most promising 21st-century concepts for recruiting, training, coaching and retaining high-caliber teachers;
• Improve teacher effectiveness for both new and experienced teachers as the core of professional development;

“This landmark effort offers the best chance in our lifetime to make dramatic improvements in the way colleges work together with schools and teacher to guarantee effective solutions that meet the needs of children, families and society,” said MSU President Richard Davenport. “I know that our faculty, our E-12 partners and the other participating institutions are working hard to reach this goal.”

The Bush Foundation was established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife Edyth. The Foundation strives to be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota by investing in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of the states’ citizens.

For the online Gaylord Hub story, go to http://gaylordhub.com/2009/12/17/grant-money-will-strengthen-se%E2%80%99s-relationship-with-msu/

For more Gaylord Hub news, go to http://gaylordhub.com/
 

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