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By Matthew Winston
mwinston@uga.edu
 The University of Georgia is one of eight institutions around the nation awarded grants from the U.S. Department of Education to better train teachers for the challenges of today’s classrooms. The grants were announced Sept. 21 by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.
Michael Padilla, associate dean for educator partnerships in UGA’s College of Education, will lead the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program funded by the grant. GSTEP links UGA with Valdosta State University, Albany State University, seven community colleges, 11 school districts, two business partners--Charter Communications and Compass-Learning--and state education agencies to focus on improving teacher quality.
The program will receive $878,294 from the Department of Education for the initial phase of the project and a total of $6.49 million over the five years of the grant. Partnerships must also match federal funds with cash or in-kind support, according to the federal grant criteria. GSTEP is expected to generate more than $7 million per year in state and partner donations. Those funds, along with the federal grant, make this collaboration a projected $41 million venture over the five-year time period.
The Department of Education awarded grants to projects that demonstrated the ability to meet several criteria. The projects are expected to:
- produce teachers with strong content knowledge in the subject they teach;
- immerse student teachers in extensive clinical experiences so that they are well prepared for the challenges of the classroom;
- establish mentoring and other supportive activities for beginning teachers; and
- integrate technology in the training program so beginning teachers can use technology effectively in the classroom.
“It’s what we have to do to go the next mile and really improve teacher education,” says Padilla. “The quality of teaching is critical. It’s more critical than class size. It’s more critical than curriculum.
If you want to improve student achievement, you have to have good teachers.”
Development teams will work to reduce the teacher shortage through recruitment and scholarships.
Others at UGA involved with the project are Hugh Ruppersburg, associate dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; Sally Hudson-Ross, language education; Christy Desmet, English; Charles Kutal, chemistry; and Elliot Gootman, mathematics.
“One of the most important aspects of this undertaking is the cooperation of all the partners, specifically including arts and sciences faculty, education faculty, teachers and RESA [Regional Education Service Agency] people to address the specific needs of constituents,” says Hudson-Ross, who is also one of the project’s creators. “We’re envisioning courses that will be taught by people from all those different constituencies, and I think that will be very healthy.” |
