November 8 Meeting Minutes

Philadelphia Regional Meeting
Friday, November 8, 2005
Temple University

Present at Meeting

Lois Heist	Tredyffrin/Easttown School District
Lee Ann Wentzel	Ridley School District
Tim McGee	University of Philadelphia
Jeanne F. Brady	St. Joseph's University
Jonathan Ross	Drexel Hill Middle School
Missy Garber	Pennsylvania College of Optometry
Maureen Cotterill	University of Pennsylvania
Tracey McLaughlin	Rep. James Roebuck's Office
Lois Peck	University of Sciences in Philadelphia
Linda Baloche	West Chester University
Tricia S. Jones	Temple University
Joanne R. Deboy	Department of Education, Lincoln University
Diane Bryen	Institute on Disabilities
Tom Walker	Temple University
Julie Kessler	Institute on Disabilities
Maureen Cannon	Institute on Disabilities
Kate Shaw	Temple University
Joseph Rosenfeld	Temple University
James Earl Davis	Temple University
Richard Kneedler	Commission Chair - President Emeritus, Franklin and Marshall College
Betsey Useem	Commissioner - Research for Action
Pat Halpin-Murphy	Commissioner - PA Federation of Teachers
C. Kent McGuire	Commissioner - Temple Univesrity
Heather D'Angelo	Commissioner - Council Rock School District
Jim Gearity	Commissioner - PA Dept. of Education
Tomás Hanna	Commissioner - Philadelphia School District
Robert Feir	Executive Director- EdStrat21
Michelle Tarlecki	Commission Administrative Director

The Philadelphia regional meeting was held at Temple University November 8, 2005. There were 28 people in attendance. Several pertinent issues were raised to the Commission. They are as follows:

• Partnerships between school districts and colleges. Teachers need to be trained in cultural competence and critical thinking. School districts train teachers in those because many colleges do not.
• Problem-solving and collaboration also need to be taught in colleges.
• K-16 partnerships promote communications between colleges and school districts.
• There should be interdependency between K-12 schools and universities – placement sites for students, teaching opportunities for K-12 teachers, research opportunities or faculty. Universities should be partners, not experts.
• Many college students have myths about urban school districts v. the reality of teaching in those districts – students need to experience that reality.
• Problem – parents’ biases weigh heavily in decisions students make (e.g., whether or not to teach in urban districts).
• Teachers need to be prepared to teach in other states as well as in Pennsylvania.
• Teachers are being trained in elementary and secondary education, but what about middle school education? Need for strong 7th and 8th grade teachers.
• Need to get new teachers into the classroom earlier in their undergraduate education. This helps to determine who is really interested in the profession.
• Problem: teacher education students must have 48 credits before they can enter a K-12 classroom.
• Colleges do want students who will become high quality teachers, but they also need students to attend – potential conflict between the university’s “business” needs and teacher quality considerations.
• Need to learn to teach diverse students.
• Need to train teachers to be prepared to teach special education students.
• Need to teach teachers how to work with multiple teachers in the room, e.g., special education and regular teachers in the same room.
• Use experienced teachers as role models for new teachers.
• 60 day rule (requirement to give notice before leaving a teaching position) – Delaware and New Jersey: license can be lifted for violations.
• Hard-to-staff schools. Virginia – multi-faceted state effort in place. Schools can apply for extra money for induction of new teachers. Commission should examine Governor Warner’s program in Virginia.
• Urban Education. Students should get experience in an urban setting and be willing to stay after graduation. Philadelphia – emergency permits down, but turnover rate is high. Costly to school districts.
• A Public Agenda study was mentioned: “Different Drummers.” Staff will review.
• Specific subject teachers must deal with various student needs as well as teach content.
• Reciprocity – teachers coming from out of state have to jump through hoops to get certified in Pennsylvania.
  • Example given for the Philadelphia School District: 200 teachers, 60 percent African American, certified out of state, had to be dropped this year because of the process to get a Pennsylvania certificate.
• Need more diverse teacher corps – not just for urban districts.
• Have to address the needs of university faculty we will ask to change the system of teacher preparation. Examine teacher education workforce.
• School districts know which colleges produce stronger students in certain subject areas. Problem – prospective students don’t know what colleges have the stronger programs.
• Incentive programs are needed to get teachers to teach in shortage areas such as subject areas or certain geographic locations (e.g., loan forgiveness).
• Federal Stafford loan forgiveness program exists for teaching in urban areas. Problem – students don’t know about program.
• PDE program reviews may not be stringent enough because of peer review (no one wants to criticize a program for fear of being criticized when their programs are reviewed).
• Include needs assessments in PDE program approval process.
• Are teacher education programs “cash cows” for the universities? What are the quality and number of students in the programs at the universities?
• Teacher education programs should collaborate with one another to augment each other’s strengths.
• Incentives for institutions to specialize in preparation for shortage areas (e.g., urban education, math teachers, etc.) might be useful.
• Teachers need to challenge the status quo, but once placed in K-12 schools they tend to fall into the culture of the status quo.
• Need to assure that field placements are in high quality classrooms with high quality cooperating teachers.
• “Teaching is an art” and each person teaches differently.
• But there also is a science of effective teaching strategies that students need to learn.
• School districts should try to focus partnerships with universities to develop trust between the partners, as well as more efficient relationships.
• Professors should be rewarded in tenure decisions for face-to-face contact in classrooms with teachers. This gives professors an idea of what is really going on in the classroom.
• There should be a role for intermediate units in teacher education.
• Teachers have to be up-to-date on technology – not as a stand-alone subject but as a tool for teaching and learning the content.
• All teachers need to be able to integrate technology effectively and differentiate instruction for diverse learners.
• Students with disabilities need to have accessible technology.
• Social and emotional learning needs to be taught in high school and middle school, not just in preschool and elementary school.
• Problem – Colleges are asked to reduce credit hours so students can graduate in four years, but also have to teach more things in less time.
• Need to sort out what novice teachers need as a result of preservice teacher education and what training needs to be part of inservice professional development.
• PDE should help more. Colleges spend a large amount of time finding answers about requirements that PDE should have ready at hand. People feel like they are working for PDE instead of their colleges.
• Pennsylvania standards are higher than those in most other states, making it difficult for candidates from other states to be certified to teach here.
• Problem – everyone has been taught to think as individuals for so long, and now we want them to think as members of a teaching team.
• Need money to support reforms.
• A common website is needed with a list of incentives for teachers, school districts, and colleges. The problem is that all of the incentives are located on different websites or not on the web at all.
• Need an inventory of innovative practices in teacher education.
• We should examine what is happening in PDE’s accelerated certification program being offered through Eastern, Chestnut Hill, and Holy Family.
• We should consider the implications of online teacher education (e.g., University of Phoenix, Western Governor’s University, University of Scranton).

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