New Tech Network President Monica Martinez Joins NCATE Panel to Assess Teacher Preparation

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I believe this is some of the most important work that we can undertake at this point in time

Napa, CA (Vocus) January 7, 2010

Monica Martinez, president of New Tech Network -- which supports and implements high schools marked by project-based learning in a technology-rich environment -- is part of a ground-breaking panel that will look at ways to restructure the preparation of teachers to reflect the needs of the 21st-century learner.

The panel was formed by the Washington, D.C.-based National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, or NCATE, which sanctions more than 600 colleges and programs nationally that produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates. NCATE’s Panel on Clinical Preparation, Partnerships and Improved Student Learning signals the beginning of a dramatic change in the preparation of the nation’s teachers, seeking to reflect teaching as a practice-based profession akin to medicine, nursing, or clinical psychology.

“I believe this is some of the most important work that we can undertake at this point in time,” said Martinez, who holds a doctorate in higher education administration from New York University. “It’s imperative that our teachers are prepared to understand and relate to the unique needs of today’s learners, and I commend the NCATE for assembling this diverse group. When our teachers are more effective as professionals, aligning their skills with the needs of P-12 schools, our education system simply works better.”

The panel is meeting in Washington today and Thursday.

As part of its work, the panel will examine characteristics and elements of clinical preparation in exemplary programs, review the research, and make recommendations as to how those characteristics and elements can be supported in policy and through funding formulas at every level—school, district, state and federal. The aim is to move from islands of innovation which are driving student achievement in certain schools or districts to a culture in which excellence is the norm. The group will issue a report of its findings and recommendations when its work is completed, most likely near the end of 2010.

Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, State University of New York System, and co-chair of the panel, said, “I am confident that this panel will help create new synergies at the local level, through collaborative partnerships between school districts, states, and higher education working to assess local needs. The operative phrase is 'joint work,' which will entail new expectations and roles for all stakeholders.”

Dwight Jones, Commissioner of Education, Colorado, who co-chairs the panel with Zimpher, said he sees the panel as a major step forward in restructuring educator preparation throughout the nation. “NCATE has taken a bold step in creating this panel, representative of all stakeholders, to help move forward changes in educator preparation which will better meet P-12 urgent needs. Raising P-12 student achievement in America is an imperative; using our combined resources in new ways to focus on urgent P-12 needs will help reach that goal.”

The more than two dozen members of the panel include experts in teacher education and education policy. As a follow-up, the group will form a working group to guide changes in NCATE standards and accreditation processes to support more clinically-based educator preparation and working partnerships between preparation programs and P-12 schools. NCATE will pilot proposed changes at sites currently supported by teacher quality grants located in Race to the Top states.

A second phase of the work will be guiding the process through NCATE policy boards to implement changes in NCATE accreditation standards to help support the panel’s recommendations and vision.

About New Tech Network: New Tech Network is a school development organization that supports the start-up and implementation of innovative high schools. There are currently more than 40 schools across the country, including schools in Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, California and Louisiana. It is a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks Foundation.

About KnowledgeWorks: KnowledgeWorks Foundation strives to be the leader in developing and implementing innovative and effective approaches to high school education in the United States. The organization primarily focuses on redesigning urban high schools, developing STEM and Early College high schools, and supporting student-centered approaches to delivering real learning and results in our schools.

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