Answering the Call for Equitable Access to Effective Teachers: Lessons Learned from State-Based Teacher Preparation Efforts in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio
Author: Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Competencies,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Education Programs,Teacher Recruitment,STEM Education,Mentors,Teacher Improvement,Academic Achievement,Teacher Persistence,College School Cooperation,Partnerships in Education,School Districts,Teacher Supply and Demand,Program Content,Accountability,Fellowships

The nation's teacher education programs are not producing the quantity or quality of teachers needed, particularly in needed subjects. The only way to ensure a strong enough pipeline of effective teachers to ensure equitable access is to dramatically increase how states are preparing prospective educators. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation established the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program in 2007 to take up this challenge. Building on seven decades of experience preparing future leaders to address the challenges facing the United States, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation established a program to recruit, prepare, and support excellent teachers for high-need schools. With a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships provide prospective teachers with the academic preparation, extensive clinical experience, and mentoring necessary to succeed in the classroom. The program is currently offered in five states--Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio--in partnership with 28 universities. This multi-state approach has led to the identification of several essential elements for the improvement of teacher education. In all states, the two key metrics of success are (1) improved teacher performance, as measured by Fellows' impact on student achievement, and (2) improved teacher persistence. Each state is working in partnership with both institutions of higher education and local school districts. Each state is developing a pipeline of effective teachers who have demonstrated mastery in subject areas where there are human resources (HR) shortages. Each state has demonstrated a commitment to develop effective teachers for high-need schools, both urban and rural, and each state has invested in a long-term process, both to identify and prepare prospective teachers, and to ensure those educators remain in the profession and continue to serve in high-need schools. Lessons learned for establishing and improving teacher education efforts in a strategic way are as follows: (1) Programs must be selective and must focus on the recruitment of excellent teacher candidates; (2) Rigorous coursework, extensive clinical preparation, and substantial mentoring through the first years in the classroom are the essential components of strong teacher preparation; (3) Accountability for all stakeholders is essential, but good data is a prerequisite to make accountability real; and (4) Improvements to existing teacher education programs need to be developed for the long term, with clear plans for sustainability if proven effective. These lessons, coupled with more than a century of practical experience embodied by Woodrow Wilson leadership and staff, serve as the basis for recommendations on how to use the available quantitative and qualitative data on the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship to improve the field as a whole.