We needed to prepare more teachers but also explore how to improve teacher preparation through collaborative research. Barbara Merino noted that more than a quarter of the state's public schools begin school not fluent in English. And Vanderhoef reported that a third of UC Davis' undergraduates are second language speakers of English. Barbara Goldman said she and her colleagues are well on their way to solving many of the challenges of working across the two institutions. It happened with the help of many people from CSUS and UCD, she noted.
Credential students sit with faculty members, surrounded by their families and friends.
Graduate Lisa Gibson, who taught at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Davis during the last year, observed that she and her colleagues were the honorary lab rats in the grand experiment, which she called a huge success. Another graduate, Michael McDaniel, who taught in Sacramento's Natomas district, spoke in memory of fellow student Vincent Catena, who died recently. His widow, Beth Ann, was in attendance and received a program certificate. A college fund has been established for the Catena children by the graduates. In an emotional, personalized ceremony, graduates read poems they had composed, and they concluded with a song composed by graduate Kari King, who taught in Vacaville.