First
Lady Laura Bush & Washington Mutual Unveil Initiative
at Mercy College
First
Lady Laura Bush and New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein
joined officials from The New Teacher Project (TNTP) and Washington
Mutual recently to unveil a new initiative to help mid-career
professionals realize their dream of becoming a teacher. Supported
by a $1.25 million grant from Washington Mutual, the Teaching
for Results initiative, a component of the Mercy College New
Teacher Residency Program, will help hundreds of New York City
professionals from many different career and educational backgrounds
bring their expertise to New York City classrooms. Participants
in the New Teacher Residency Program will take part in a rigorous
two-year Masters and Certification program, which provides
students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful
teachers.
“At
Mercy, we have integrated the Teaching for Results program
into our unique practiced based curriculum developed for the
New York City Teaching Fellows,” Dr. Lucie Lapovsky, President
of Mercy College stated. “Last summer more than 150 students
participated in the program and this year there will be more
than 800 students who will benefit from the unique partnership
among The New Teacher’s Project, The Department of Education,
Washington Mutual and Mercy College. This partnership has resulted
in the development of a new approach to preparing teachers
which should result in the development of outstanding, transformational
teachers.”
The
Teaching for Results initiative makes the necessary link between
teacher recruitment and on-the-job teacher effectiveness and
continued professional development. Recruiting qualified individuals
to teach is just the first step. Ensuring that these individuals
stay and succeed in the classroom is an even bigger challenge.
According to recent statistics, nearly 15 percent of teachers
leave after the first year of teaching; that number climbs
to nearly 50 percent after the first five years. Teaching for
Results is designed to help newcomers get over the initial
hurdles and get through the subsequent years by giving them
the classroom skills they need to make teaching a long-term
career.
Michelle
Rhee, CEO and President of The New Teacher Project thanked
First Lady Laura Bush, Chancellor Klein and Washington Mutual
for their “support and recognition of Teaching for Results’ unique
approach to ensuring the lasting success of our teachers. Since
1997, when The New Teacher Project first started recruiting
professionals interested in changing careers to teach, we’ve
learned some important lessons about the need to provide teachers
with more support in their first year in the classroom.”
As
part of the Teaching for Results initiative, participants will
learn how to translate the knowledge they have gained, either
from their previous career or from their own education, into
effective ways to communicate and relate with students, which
is the essence of teaching. Simply put, Teaching for Results
will not waste time teaching chemical engineers about chemistry,
but rather focus on the specific teaching skills it takes to
engage and educate a classroom of high school students about
chemistry. Initiative participants will also receive critical
lessons in classroom management that are specific to the subject
(English, math, science) and the grade level (elementary, middle
school or high school) they teach. This dual approach, the
art of teaching, coupled with subject-specific classroom management
is what makes Teaching for Results different from other initiatives.
In
addition to New York City, two other cities, Atlanta and Los
Angeles will also participate in the Teaching for Results initiative.
In order to ensure the success of the initiative, TNTP has
worked with partners in each of the three participating cities
including Mercy College, Los Angeles Unified School District
and Atlanta Public Schools to recruit local individuals who
are highly qualified and motivated to become teachers. Teaching
for Results has chosen a group of participants who not only
possess an impressive level of expertise in many different
professions, but also come from diverse backgrounds. In New
York City, the local Teaching for Results partner is Mercy
College.
“Washington
Mutual’s sponsorship of Teaching for Results provides us with
a perfect opportunity to carry on our tradition of supporting
programs that further the teaching profession in our country,” said
Donna Wilson, Northeast Community Affairs President of Washington
Mutual. “This grant will help teachers succeed by helping them
translate what they know into learning for students. We can
think of no better way to leverage the experience and knowledge
these teachers bring to New York City classrooms—and we are
grateful for their commitment.”
Chancellor
Klein said, “Great teachers make all the difference for a school
and great teaching is, quite simply, the key to raising student
achievement. By becoming New York City Teaching Fellows, these
new teachers have made an extraordinary commitment to our children.”
“For
too long, children in our nation’s cities have suffered from
a lack of highly qualified teachers in their highest needs
schools, especially in the areas of math, science and special
education,” said Lucie Lapovsky, President of Mercy College. “By
redesigning and overseeing the certification program for teaching
candidates from nontraditional backgrounds, Mercy College is
helping to provide more than 750 teachers who are not only
qualified and motivated, but for the most part were raised
in the same communities where they will teach.”
This
past summer, 150 students participated in coursework that integrated
the Teaching for Results seminar. During the upcoming year,
over 800 participants are expected to take part in the New
York City, Mercy College Teaching for Results program.#
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