Southeastern dean and alumna participate in roundtable discussion in Washington DC on teacher preparation
Monday, February 4, 2019 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
DEAN INVITED TO WASHINGTON - Southeastern Louisiana University College of Education Dean Paula Summers Calderon, right, and Southeastern alumna and 2018 College of Education Student Teacher of the Year Payton Bryant, left, were recently invited to Washington DC by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, center, to participate in a roundtable discussion on preparing classroom teachers. Southeastern is one of seven original universities in the nation and the only one in Louisiana invited to join the education coalition called University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Education Preparation (US PREP).
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University College of Education Dean Paula Summers
Calderon was recently invited to Washington DC by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy
DeVos to participate in a roundtable discussion about preparing classroom teachers.
Southeastern is one of only seven school-university partners in the nation and the
only one in Louisiana originally selected for an education coalition titled University-School
Partnerships for the Renewal of Education Preparation (US PREP).
“US PREP is a well-connected program advocating for rigorous university-based
teacher education programs. In addition to advocating, US PREP provides clinical coaches
who come to the university to train our methods instructors, host mentor teachers,
and university site coordinators in best practices in teacher education,” Calderon
explained. “As a new dean, I made the decision to continue the US PREP partnership,
and the College of Education is delighted to be an inaugural and continuing member
of the US PREP Coalition.”
Attending the meeting with Calderon was Southeastern alumna and 2018 College
of Education Student Teacher of the Year Payton Bryant. Bryant currently teaches at
Luling Elementary in St. Charles Parish.
“When Dr. Calderon asked me to attend the roundtable discussion in Washington
DC to speak to Secretary DeVos, I was beyond excited for a chance to tell my story
of what high quality teacher preparation can do,” Bryant said. “My ultimate goal was
to implore Secretary DeVos to make my experience commonplace for new teachers in order
to prepare them adequately and retain them for years to come.”
During the discussion, Bryant added, the participants explained their teacher
education programs and the far-reaching impact of those programs on the students.
“I mainly discussed how pre-service teachers need a chance to fail with a mentor
teacher there to guide them, because we do not have this chance when we begin in our
own classroom,” Bryant explained. “I was fortunate to have a mentor teacher who held
me to the highest of standards, gave me feedback each day, and never settled for anything
less than my best. She never told me what to do but questioned me and made me figure
out things for myself. This opportunity does not exist now that I am inside of my
own classroom, which is why every single teacher candidate needs it.”
During the meeting at the Department of Education, US PREP highlighted how it
is addressing challenges that contribute to a national shortage of educators. Coalition
deans and program graduates shared innovative features of the initiative and emphasized
the importance of high-quality training for pre-service teachers.
“In some states, the standards are low for preparation programs, making it easy
to become a teacher through low-quality programs,” said US PREP Executive Director
Sarah Beal. “These teachers often teach in our highest need areas, and when they are
not well-prepared, it can result in perpetuating inequities in our school systems
as well as de-professionalizing the teaching profession overall.”
“Many policymakers are critical of colleges of education and have given up on
us,” Beal added. “We were pleased to showcase the hard work that has been done by
the partner universities in US PREP, and that it is possible to make innovative improvements
and thoroughly prepare candidates to be ready to teach on day one. We are very grateful
to Secretary DeVos and her staff for taking the time to listen.”
Among the features of US PREP are close partnerships between universities and
schools, embedded university faculty in school districts, and intensive clinical experiences
featuring a yearlong teaching experience and robust performance assessments. US PREP
also supports their member providers with developing high-quality teacher preparation
pathways that are affordable and accessible to prospective teachers.
US PREP is adding eight more partners, including in New York City and California.
In all, the US PREP coalition will prepare over 5,000 new teachers each year.
