 |
We are pleased to welcome our incoming freshmen, transfer students, and returning candidates. This fall term we will have 256 teacher education candidates participating in senior action labs. Two days per week these candidates will be engaged with students in local schools in preparation for their spring placement for student teaching. Also during this term, we will have 59 teacher education candidates in local schools completing their fall student teaching. The opportunity to complete student teaching during the fall semester was extended to our students beginning with fall 2007 and many education candidates have participated in fall student teaching since then.
We are also pleased to welcome three new faculty members to the School of Education.Dr. Stacie Petit, Visiting Assistant Professor, is our first faculty hire for the Grenada Center. |
At the Tupelo Center, we welcome Dr. Michael Mott, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education. Our third new faculty member is Dr. Carol Livingston, Assistant Professor in Mathematics Education who will be based on the Oxford campus.
Summer 2009 was a very productive period for the School of Education with the hosting of two very successful conferences. The SOE sponsored the Mississippi Arts Commission Whole School Conference, and an estimated 400 teachers from across the state assembled on the Oxford campus to learn how to incorporate the arts into their classroom instruction. In July the SOE’s Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction (CELI) sponsored the second annual reading conference. The keynote speaker was Dr. Ray Reutzel, from Utah State University, who is recognized as both a national and international expert on reading instruction. In addition to his work this summer Dr. Reutzel will spend the next year working with the CELI staff, SOE faculty, and state leaders to develop strategies to lessen the gap in early childhood literacy. Other summer activities included CELI’s hosting of two reading camps which were held in the Oxford and New Albany school districts and focused on promoting better reading habits for elementary school students.
As we move forward into the new academic year, work continues in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction on the Blue Ribbon Initiative to improve teacher education and we continue efforts to expand the Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction degree program. Faculty were delighted to receive a reinforcing endorsement from the national panel reviewing their work on re-redesign and a “go ahead” to move toward implementation of the Blue Ribbon Initiative. With work moving toward completion of all syllabi revisions, the committee responsible for completing the Master of Arts program revisions for alternate route teachers expects to begin admitting students for summer 2010. It is anticipated that this program will provide a viable option for alternate route teachers to advance their knowledge and skills in teaching while completing requirements for master’s degree certification.
During the month of July, the Department of Counselor Education hosted a continuing accreditation visit from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The external team of three reviewed all aspects of our counselor education program and indicated only one recommendation, which was the need for additional support staff to assist the faculty with the many tasks associated with managing the program. We are extremely proud of this success and extend congratulations to Dr. Tim Letzring, department chair, and the counselor education faculty and staff who worked so diligently in preparing for the visit
The faculty and staff of the School of Education remain committed to advancing the quality of our graduates and our role of providing leadership for education within our state. As always, we welcome your suggestions for improvement and recommendation. Please contact me at any time and stop by for a visit while on campus.
|
