Southeastern College of Education awarded $5 million grant
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s College of Education has received
a five-year $5 million federal grant to strengthen the recruitment and preparation
of new teachers, including increasing the number of teachers from underrepresented
populations. The project is titled Building Rigorous Induction and Development for
Growing all Educators or BRIDGE.
“By partnering with school districts, the BRIDGE project will support beginning
teachers beyond graduation,” said College of Education Dean Paula Summers Calderon.
“In doing so, we will help districts retain qualified teachers beyond the three to
five-year lifespan of a new teacher.”
The Teacher Quality Partnership grant funds a partnership between Southeastern
and selected district partners. The project will begin by engaging partners in the
Tangipahoa Parish School System in the second year of the grant. The St. Charles Parish
School System will be added in the third year of the grant, and a third district will
be selected to join the project in year four.
Principal investigators Calderon and Cherissa L. Vitter will work closely with
the school districts to recruit teacher candidates from underrepresented populations
and to provide support to ensure their persistence through the program, resulting
in classroom retention. The project will focus on the preparation of teachers in the
shortage areas aligned with the current needs of the districts to reduce both out-of-field
and uncertified teaching.
Calderon said the project will result in the preparation and induction of 375
more effectively trained, highly supported and diverse new teachers over five years
and increase the instructional leadership skills and knowledge of 150 mentor teachers
who will support them.
“We are excited to work with the university and district partners to train mentor
teachers as part of the solution for retaining and developing new teachers,” said
NIET CEO Joshua Barnett. “Teacher leadership is a proven strategy for retaining and
developing effective teachers by providing timely, relevant and actionable support
for their continued growth and improvement.”
Training for mentor teachers will increase the number of teachers prepared for
leadership roles in their schools as they become available, expanding their impact
to more students and teachers over the long term.
“We are committed to helping every student to excel,” said Superintendent of
Tangipahoa School System Melissa Stilley. “The ability of our district to hire effective
teachers and school leaders is highly dependent on the skills of teacher and school
leader candidates. We are excited to partner with Southeastern and NIET to support
our teachers in continuing to improve their classroom practices and better support
student success.”
“This partnership will create high expectations for new teachers and support
for teacher candidates in a yearlong residency,” said Superintendent of St. Charles
Parish Public Schools Ken Oertling. “This will be followed by induction support in
their first years of teaching.”
Combined these strategies will provide high-quality support for aspiring teachers
that bridges their preparation program and their first two years in the classroom.
The BRIDGE project will address these challenges by enhancing Southeastern’s
teacher preparation program, recruiting a more diverse cadre of new teachers, and
creating induction programs in partner districts to support novice teachers to be
more effective earlier in their careers.
