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Southeastern College of Education awarded 7-year reaccreditation
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has renewed a seven-year
reaccreditation of Southeastern’s College of Education.
In its announcement, CAEP, the foremost accrediting agency for education programs,
said Southeastern’s initial teacher preparation and advanced preparation levels met
the rigorous standards set by the professional education community. In addition, the
agency applauded the university’s efforts and reported that the commission’s findings
indicated no areas requiring improvement related to any of the standards.
“This is truly an impressive achievement that reflects the hard work and dedication
of the faculty and staff in the College of Education to provide a high quality program
for the preparation of future teachers and administrators for Louisiana’s schools,”
said Southeastern President John L. Crain. “Highly effective educators are essential
in order for K-12 students to achieve their highest potential.”
CAEP, formerly known as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
(NCATE), is the profession’s agency for assessing the quality of teacher preparation
programs, using a performance-based system of evaluation. The accrediting agency came
into being in 2013 following a consolidation of NCATE and the Teacher Education Accreditation
Council.
The accreditation comes after CAEP reviewed the university’s institutional report
and documented evidence. Last April, four evaluators and one state representative
conducted a NCATE Legacy visit to the College of Education, where they interviewed
students, faculty, administrators and representatives from area partner schools that
provide field experiences and student-teaching opportunities. The group also visited
field placement sites and observed student teachers in the classroom. The next visit
is scheduled for 2022.
“The accreditation is a mark of distinction and provides recognition that the
College of Education has met national standards for preparing teachers and other educators,”
said Shirley Jacob, dean of the College of Education. “It verifies that Southeastern’s
program has shown evidence of competent teacher candidate performance. Teacher candidates
are expected to fully comprehend the subject matter they plan to teach and how to
teach it effectively so all students can learn.”
Jacob said the success of the Southeastern program can be attributed to members
of the education faculty who are experienced teachers themselves, the other Southeastern
faculty who provide the excellent content courses students need to take, and the university’s
partner schools who provide valuable teaching opportunities and field experiences
for teacher-candidates.
The Southeastern education program offers 10 bachelor degree programs, seven
master’s level degrees, alternative certification and a doctorate degree in educational
leadership. Approximately 1,400 students are enrolled in its various programs.
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North Lake Community Band to perform Dec. 8
The North Lake Community Band, under the direction of Southeastern Professor Emeritus
of Music Jerry Voorhees, will present a concert in Pottle Music Auditorium on December
8, at 7:30 p.m. Titled “Shall We Dance,” the concert is open to the public and is
free of charge.
Voorhees said the band, which is organized through Southeastern’s Community Music
School, is designed for adults “who may otherwise have limited opportunities to play
in a band.”
For more information, contact the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at 549-2184.
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Traffic changes planned for Southeastern commencement Dec. 12
Motorists and visitors planning to attend Southeastern’s commencement ceremonies
on Saturday, Dec. 12, should anticipate heavy traffic and route changes affecting
University Avenue (Hwy. 3234) between Interstate 55 and North Cherry Street.
Louisiana State Senator Ben Nevers will speak at the ceremony, where approximately
1,150 students will receive associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at
the 10 a.m. ceremony in the University Center.
Harold Todd, director of University Police, said the section of University Avenue
between West Lion Lane and SGA Drive will be restricted from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that
day. Local traffic will be allowed to proceed on University Avenue for as long as
possible, but will be diverted through the campus as congestion increases.
Prior to commencement, the University Center parking areas are expected to fill
early, and all traffic on University Avenue will be diverted. Eastbound commencement
traffic will be diverted to West Lion Lane for parking at the University Center, and
westbound commencement traffic will be diverted to the campus at SGA Drive.
“Traffic will begin to get heavy early in the morning,” said Todd. “We anticipate
the parking areas around the University Center to be filled before 9 a.m.”
Additional parking spaces around the University Center will be set aside for
vehicles with appropriate handicapped placards. Individuals requiring handicap accommodations
should try to arrive as early as possible.
Vacant parking spaces in the Southeastern Oaks/Greek Village complex will also
be used for this event. Residents are requested to use the back gate near the laundry
facility and maintenance warehouse for entering and exiting between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Southeastern Lion Traxx shuttle buses will be in operation before and after the
ceremony to accommodate those parking in outlying areas or needing special transportation
assistance, Todd said. Shuttle stops will be marked with signs and/or canopies.
Drivers not attending commencement are asked to use U.S. 190 (Thomas Street and
Morris Street) or Natalbany Road (Hwy. 1064) to avoid University Avenue traffic.
Southeastern students wishing to return rental textbooks that day should wait
until after 2 p.m. to do so.
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Faculty and Staff Holiday Open House scheduled
The annual Faculty and Staff Holiday Open House will be held at the President’s Residence
on Wednesday, Dec. 9, between 3:30 and
5 p.m. Please plan to come by during this time.
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Southeastern awarded half-million dollar Gates grant to enhance teacher preparation
Southeastern has been named to one of five newly-formed Teacher Preparation Transformation
Centers designed to bring together higher education institutions, teacher-preparation
providers and K-12 school systems to share data, knowledge and best practices.
Southeastern is the only teacher-preparation program in Louisiana invited to
participate.
Funding for the projects amounts to a total of $34.7 million over three years
provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Each center is expected to test
different approaches in various contexts to better understand teacher-preparation
practices that are most effective. The Transformation Centers will be guided by a
common set of indicators and outcomes while testing different approaches.
Each center includes several universities. Southeastern’s College of Education
will be part of the University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation
(U.S.PREP) National Center based at Texas Tech University.
Southeastern will receive approximately $534,000 over the three-year period,
explained Shirley Jacob, interim dean of the College of Education. Other universities
participating in U.S.PREP are Jackson State University, Southern Methodist University,
the University of Houston and the University of Memphis.
“We know through years of experience that one of the main impacts on students’
learning is the presence of a highly-effective, qualified teacher,” Jacob said. “This
project is intended to help all teacher-preparation programs better prepare our teacher-candidates
to be successful in the classroom.”
The overall goal of U.S.Prep is to produce exemplary new teachers for their partner
school districts who outperform new teachers prepared in other teacher-preparation
programs. The school districts partnering with Southeastern are the St. Charles Parish
School District and the Ascension Parish Public School District.
“We have worked closely and very cooperatively with both these districts for
years now. They have served as sites for our teacher candidates to practice their
student teaching under the supervision of one or more of their own highly competent
teachers,” Jacobs said. “They are fully committed to the goal of improving their own
instructors, as well as helping us develop a high quality generation of new teachers.”
“We welcome the opportunity for our district to be engaged in the development
and implementation of a transformative teacher preparation program,” said Patrice
Pujol, superintendent of Ascension Public Schools. “We look forward to our district,
school and teacher leaders collaborating with university faculty to assure that teacher
education candidates are strategically placed with strong mentors in the schools.
Felecia Gomez-Walker, superintendent of St. Charles Parish Public Schools noted
that the district and Southeastern have collaborated over many years to develop an
excellent student teaching experience for future teachers, which has led to development
of a one-year apprenticeship model now in effect.
“District personnel will interact with university faculty to strategically coordinate
teacher education candidate field placements and residencies in our school district,”
she added. “This collaboration has the potential to positively impact the work we
are doing to prepare teachers for the 21st Century classrooms.”
Read more
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New awarded created by Faculty Senate
James Kirylo, president of the Faculty Senate, has created a new monthly award called
the “Faculty Senate President’s Scholar Award.” The award is given monthly at the
faculty senate meetings.
The recipient for December is Dr. Holly Kihm, College of Nursing and Health Sciences/Department
of Health and Human Sciences.
The inaugural award was given at the September meeting, and the recipient was
David Armand of the English Department. The October recipient was Dr. Thomas Sommerfeld
from the Department of Chemistry and Physics.
To be considered for these monthly awards, candidates either self-submit or can
be nominated by a colleague. They submit a one page summary of their scholarly/creative
work, highlighting their most important accomplishments.
The purpose of the award is simply an avenue that highlights the great work that
many of our faculty are doing, but sometimes goes unnoticed.
The president and vice-president of the faculty senate then review the submissions,
and select the respective award recipient.
The recipient is honored at the Faculty Senate meeting with a plaque and then
appears on a newly formed radio show called “State of the Faculty Senate” with the
faculty senate president.
Communication Professor Joe Burns is host of the show, which is recorded at 9:30
a.m., the Thursday after senate meetings. The show then airs on the subsequent Friday,
KSLU 90.9, and will then be podcasted on our newly Faculty Senate website.
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