The report highlights the work of a national center in the College of Education that assists universities in elevating teacher preparation.
University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation (US PREP) National Center today (July 31) released a white paper about strategies for renewing educator preparation.
Specifically, the white paper explores the scope and impact of US PREP's work transforming university-based educator preparation programs to better attract, train and retain high-quality, racially diverse teachers for underserved K-12 classrooms around the country.
The report takes a look at the center's innovative teacher preparation methods, which were developed at Texas Tech University. The methods include the formation of close partnerships between universities and schools, the use of yearlong clinical teaching experiences and basing university faculty in the schools to mentor teacher candidates.
Additionally, the paper provides recommendations to universities, schools and policymakers for growing a well-prepared teacher workforce.
"Many of the challenges faced in schools can be mitigated by investing in purposeful teacher preparation up front," said Sarah Beal, executive director of US PREP. "Too many of our K-12 students are taught by new teachers who are ill-equipped to teach, thus resulting in the perpetuation of inequalities, especially in our schools that serve economically disadvantaged students."
Download a free copy of the white paper.
More about US PREP
Housed in the College of Education at Texas Tech University, US PREP provides on-the-ground support and services to a coalition of university-based teacher preparation programs around the country. The current coalition comprises 14 school-university partners in seven states with a common mission of attracting, training and retaining high quality, racially diverse teachers for underserved communities.