CAEP, NCATE, TEAC Exploration

CAEP, NCATE, TEAC Exploration

According to the website “The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is the profession’s mechanism to help establish high quality teacher preparation.  Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges, and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching and teacher preparation today, tomorrow, and for the next century” (The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2014).  Establishing high quality teacher preparation programs through a “performance-based system” is the mission of the NCATE because they want to make sure that all teachers are qualified to provide students with an education. 

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is another organization whose mission is to help high quality teachers.  The strategic goals of the CAEP is “to raise the bar in educator preparation; promote continuous improvement; advance research and innovation; increase accreditation’s value; be a model accrediting body; and to be a model learning organization” (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, 2015).  The CAEP mission is similar to the NCATE, however their goals are structured more around research-based evidence to prepare highly qualified teachers.

The Teacher Education Accreditation Council “is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving academic degree programs for professional educators, those who will teach and lead in schools, pre-K through grade 12” (Teacher Education Accreditation Council, 2014).  The TEAC goal is to prepare individuals to become “competent, caring and qualified professional educators” (Teacher Education Accreditation Council, 2014) and they are now a division of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

The education of children is one of the most important jobs that an individual can obtain which is why the NCATE, CAEP and the TEAC design and implement preparation programs that prepare individuals to become highly qualified professional educators.  These preparation programs are structured in a way that not only prepare individuals but they also continue to support those individuals throughout their career as an educator with programs that enhance their skills and abilities to increase their effectiveness as an educational professional.

  

References

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. (2015). Retrieved from http://caepnet.org

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ncate.org

Teacher Education Accreditation Council. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.teac.org

Educational Issues

A current educational issue here in Pennsylvania is financially distressed schools.  More specifically there are many districts such as Philadelphia that are dealing with a budget crisis that is having a negative impact on the school system. Senator Daylin Leach, who represents the 17^th district wrote about the education issues in Pennsylvania and proposed solutions and the Education Voters of Pennsylvania also discussed the Philadelphia Budget Advocacy.  According to Senator Daylin Leach, “financially distressed schools risk defaulting on their debts or worse, closing their doors. Therefore, legislation is being considered to create a framework under which the state can help by giving expertise and money to these districts” (Daylin Leach Representing the 17th Senatorial District, 2012).  The Education Voters of Pennsylvania are encouraging voters to “take action to support Philadelphia’s public school students because without sufficient funding, our schools can’t provide the basic programs and services that our children need to have an opportunity to learn” (Education Voters of Pennsylvania, 2015).

Lack of funding for the public school system is having an influence on educational practices because resources for students are limited, and many teachers have to cover the cost for materials that their students need to make sure that they have the opportunity to receive an adequate educational experience.  Classroom sizes have also increased because many school teachers have been laid off as an effort to reduce the budget cost creating a 30:1 student-teacher ratio in most cases.   Increased classroom size presents a challenge for many teachers due to the diversity of the students and can affect the level of classroom instruction.  Former Governor Tom Corbett signed a bill into law that was “designed to help financially distressed school districts and ensure education for the children who live in these communities” ("Gov. Corbett Signs Legislation to aid financially distressed schools," 2012), however the lack of funding for public schools have contributed to parents exploring different educational opportunities for their children such as charter, private and online schools.  

The school reform law was designed to “set a course of action that will help guide financially distressed school districts back onto solid economic ground, because the state will provide financial assistance as well as management assistance” ("Gov. Corbett Signs Legislation to aid financially distressed schools," 2012). I believe that the lack of funding for public schools will eventually lead to the elimination of public school districts in the near future because of the increase of available charter schools and homeschooling.  While the lack of funding for public school is very disturbing is has very little effect on my decision to become a school teacher because public school education is one of many different educational experiences that students can have so there are always going to be available educational settings to teach.  Charter Schools are becoming more available and the learning experience is designed to be a combination of public and private education that is tuition-free and that is where many inspiring teachers like myself will launch our career as a teacher due to the lack of funding for public schools.

  

References

Daylin Leach Representing the 17th Senatorial District. (2012). Education Issues in Pennsylvania. Retrieved from http://www.senatorleach.com/issues/access-to-education#DistressedSchools

Education Voters of Pennsylvania. (2015). Philadelphia Budget Advocacy: Take Action. Retrieved from http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/issues/philadelphia-budget-advocacy-take-action1/

Gov. Corbett Signs Legislation to aid financially distressed schools. (2012). US Fed News Service, Including US State News. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1024671854?accountid=458