Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) June 16, 2016 -- A coalition of nine teacher preparation programs released a letter today to the Department of Education and Congress calling for clear guidance to states seeking to enhance the quality of teacher preparation programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Urban Teachers—along with Aspire Public Schools, Blue Engine, Boston Teacher Residency, Match Teacher Residency, National Center for Teacher Residencies, Relay Graduate School of Education, Teach For America and TNTP—advocate for data sharing systems that require teacher preparation programs to publicly release outcomes data on the effectiveness of their programs and the performance of their participants and graduates.
“Our customers—state leaders, school districts, and prospective teachers—deserve access to data allowing them to assess the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs,” said Jennifer Green, CEO of Urban Teachers. “Transparency of outcomes can ensure teacher training programs are accountable to their customers whose high stakes decisions around teacher hiring and program enrollment impact the future of thousands of children.”
The coalition encourages the Department of Education and Congress to create a clear roadmap that allows state education agencies to build data sharing systems that ensure programs are collecting and reporting evidence-based data, such as student achievement gains, teacher retention and attrition, teacher evaluations and principal satisfaction surveys. This system will allow potential teacher candidates to identify high-quality teacher preparation programs, setting them up for success and retention in the classroom. It will also enable school leaders to make meaningful, data-driven decisions with teacher hiring. Programs themselves will also benefit, gaining insight into their own effectiveness and gaining the ability to adopt innovative practices that result in student growth.
This national coalition is assembling for the second time to advocate for improvements to teacher preparation. In February 2015, the organizations united to support the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulations of teacher training programs (read more here). The coalition plans to continue to submit letters to federal officials to guide efforts to strengthen educator training programs across the country.
About Urban Teachers
Urban Teachers improves teacher quality in city schools by preparing a pipeline of high-performing career teachers and holding them accountable for student success. Founded in 2009, Urban Teachers is a nationally recognized leader of urban school reform because it links teacher effectiveness to certification eligibility. Urban Teachers is currently serving urban youth in Baltimore City and the District of Columbia and opening in Dallas/Forth Worth in August 2016.
Celia Parker, Urban Teachers, http://www.urbanteachers.org/, +1 (202) 266-4712, [email protected]
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