The programs serve 2,500 students in about 200 school districts. Youth Services International, Inc., concentrates mainly on adjudicated youth. The company, which recently merged with Correctional Services Corporation, operates 28 residential programs in seven states and hopes to contract with school districts to serve at-risk students. However, principals have found that hiring teachers on the basis of their application materials and interviews is no guarantee they'll make the grade in a classroom. Riley lays the problem of poorly trained teachers directly on the doorsteps of colleges and universities.
Many efforts are under way to reform teacher preparation.
They are prepared under the supervision of Philip K. Piele, professor and director, ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management at the University of Oregon. Reproduced with permission from the April 1999 issue of The American School Board Journal . The American School Board Journal is an editorially independent publication of the National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed by this magazine or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of the National School Boards Association. This web page may be saved to disk, printed out for individual use, or reproduced in quantities of less than 100 copies for academic use only, provided this copyright notice remains intact on each copy.