America
Reads-Mississippi Program
America Reads-Mississippi (ARM) is an AmeriCorps
literacy program administered by the Academic Affairs
Office of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher
Learning. Funding is provided by the Corporation for
National and Community Service through the Mississippi
Commission for Volunteer Service.
America Reads-Mississippi (ARM) is the largest program
of its kind in the nation, with 270 tutors serving
throughout Mississippi in four different regions; Alcorn
State University, Delta State University, Jackson State
University and Mississippi State University. The Alcorn
State University (ASU) region served Southwest
Mississippi in 10 school districts with 103 of the 270
members serving in 18 school sites tutoring kindergarten
through middle school children reading. The ASU
region directed by Dr. Helen J. Wyatt was chosen as the
“region of the year” for 2006-2007 fiscal year. The
ASU staff consisted of Ms. Deborah Donaldson, Field
Program Specialist, Ms. Nikitna Barnes, Field Program
Specialist, and Mrs. Gloria Pipes, Administrative
Assistant.
ASU School of
Education and Psychology Receives Continued Professional NCATE Accreditation
Studies
show that teacher quality is the most important factor
in P-12 student achievement. But how do we know that
our children’s teachers enter the classroom ready to
help them learn? Professional accreditation is one way
to ensure the public that schools of education are
graduating well-qualified teachers ready for today’s
classrooms. Alcorn State University’s School of
Education and Psychology has proven its commitment to
producing quality teachers for our nation’s children by
achieving accreditation under the performance-oriented
standards of the National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education (NCATE) which is the organization
responsible for professional accreditation of teacher
education.
Alcorn
State University is one of 55 schools of education that
received continuing accreditation from the NCATE Unit
Accreditation Board in its most recent round of
decisions on initial and continued accreditation. NCATE
accredits 623 institutions. The 623 accredited
institutions produce two-thirds of the nation’s new
teacher graduates each year. Another 99 institutions
are candidates or pre-candidates for accreditation.
NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards
set by the profession and members of the public.
Teacher
candidates must have in-depth knowledge of the subject
matter they plan to teach as well as the skills and
dispositions necessary to convey it so that students
learn. The university must carefully assess this
knowledge and skills to determine that candidates may
graduate. The institution must have partnerships with
P-12 schools that enable candidates to develop the
skills necessary to help students learn. Candidates
must be prepared to understand and work with diverse
student populations. Colleges and university faculty
must model effective teaching practices. The school,
college, or department of education must have the
resources, including information technology resources,
necessary to prepare candidates to meet new standards.
NCATE revises its standards every five years to
incorporate best practices and research in order to
ensure that the standards reflect a consensus about what
is important in teacher preparation today.
In the
past decade, NCATE has moved from an accreditation
system that focuses on curriculum and what teacher
candidates were offered, to a data-driven performance
based system dedicated to determining what candidates
know and are able to do. The new system expects teacher
preparation institutions to provide compelling evidence
of candidate knowledge and skills in the classroom.
Multiple types of performance assessment are expected
throughout the program of study. Candidate
qualifications are assessed upon entry, and candidate
competence is assessed throughout the program as well as
prior to student teaching/internship work, and before
completion of the program. Meeting NCATE accreditation
standards also helps institutions prepare new teachers
for new, more rigorous licensing standards in any
states. NCATE accreditation standards incorporate the
model state licensing principles developed by a task
force of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Dr.
Malvin Williams, President of Alcorn State University
made the following comments about evaluation: Alcorn
State University is pleased to have its NCATE
accreditation re-affirmed through 2013. I congratulate
the Dean, the NCATE Coordinator and all administrators,
faculty and staff in the School of Education and
Psychology for the hard work and efforts in
accomplishing this task. The university is also pleased
that this re-affirmation came with only one area of
improvement, which was the need for additional faculty
in the guidance program because of the growth of the
program.
Dr.
Napoleon Moses, Vice President for Academic Affairs
spoke highly of the quality of the Professional
Education Unit at Alcorn State University and its
successful NCATE review. He supports the team’s report
from another Accrediting Agency, the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) 2001 visit,
that the School of Education and Psychology has the
potential of being the shining light at the university.
Administrators, faculty and staff in the School of
Education and Psychology work very hard and demonstrate
true commitment and dedication to the teaching
profession. It is rewarding to know that NCATE
recognizes this.
Dr. Josephine M. Posey, Dean of the
School of Education and Psychology and the Head of the
Professional Education Unit, commented that Alcorn State
University’s Professional Education Unit, housed in the
School of Education and Psychology, has produced
teachers throughout the world who are highly respected
for their knowledge, skills, and dispositions. NCATE
never stops at Alcorn although the formal visit for a
particular evaluation ends. The Professional Education
Unit demonstrates quality on a continuous basis, gets
accolades from all sectors of the world complimenting
the Alcorn teacher and initiating efforts to recruit
others. Dr. Posey indicated that the Administration,
faculty, staff, and students at Alcorn State University
are to be commended for their commitment to quality
throughout the teacher preparation program at Alcorn
State University. The teacher education candidates are
prepared to go into P-12 schools and ensure that the
learners encounter the very best instruction that will
lead to achieving at the highest level. She shared also
that the School of Education and Psychology embraces the
university’s communiversity concept through its many
programs and projects that support and strengthen the
unit through collaborative efforts in service, research,
and teaching. The NCATE Coordinator and the NCATE staff
did an excellent job in coordinating the various
mechanics of this successful NCATE visit. It is highly
notable to have this fact confirmed by the National
Accrediting Agency for Teacher Education.
Dr. Doris
Gary, Associate Dean of the School of Education and
Psychology/NCATE Coordinator at Alcorn State University,
supports the NCATE Vision for the 21st
century that caring, competent, and qualified teachers
should teach every child. Student learning must mean
not only basic skills but also the knowledge and skills
necessary to succeed as a responsible citizen and
contributor to the new economy. As Americans enter the
21st century, standards for teacher
preparation, licensing, and advanced certification have
been developed and are aligned with each other.
Dr. Gary is
especially proud of the Professional Teacher Education’s
Conceptual Framework which is entitled “Alcorn’s
Proficient and Effective Communiversity Teacher.” This
Conceptual Framework is the thread that feeds throughout
the Teacher Education Program on a continuous basis and
ensures that candidates/teachers graduate as being
Highly Qualified to teach.
The U.S.
Department of Education recognizes NCATE as the
professional accrediting body for schools, departments,
and colleges of education. On-site visits, document
review, and accreditation decisions are all carried out
by professionals from the education community, including
teachers, school specialists, and teacher educators, as
well as members of the public and education
policymakers.
Professional
accreditation validates the university’s quality in
academic programs. Although we have a 100% pass rate on
the PRAXIS examinations, this re-affirmation of
accreditation validates the quality of the Alcorn State
University Teacher Education Program. We will use the
suggestions made by the visiting team to make continuous
improvements in the program.
For more
information about Alcorn State University’s teacher
education program, visit the web site at
www.alcorn.edu . More information about NCATE is
available at
www.ncate.org .
Left to right: Dr.
Darlene Dungee, Chair, Department of Health, Physical
Education and Recreation, Dr. Doris Gary, Associate
Dean, School of Education and Psychology/NCATE
Coordinator, Dr. Malvin Williams, President, Alcorn
State University, Dr. Josephine Posey, Dean, School of
Education and Psychology, Dr. Doris McGowan, Chair,
Education and Psychology
Left to right: Ms.
Tabitha Smith, Dr. Doris C. Gary, Ms. LeVonne Bailey,
Ms. Casaundra Thompson, Dr. Josephine M. Posey, Mrs.
Gretchen Buckles, Ms. Patricia Keys, Mrs. Doreacer
Turner
Left to right: Dr. Darlene Dungee, Dr. Joyce Harris,
NCATE consultant, Dr. Josephine Posey, Dr. Doris Gary,
Dr. Doris McGowan.
