Text Box: Eastern North Carolina Center for Excellence in Teaching and Leadership Text Box: Federal Update Text Box: East Carolina University Washington Initiatives in the Senate and House Text Box: Albert A. Delia • Director of Federal Relations • Office of the Chancellor East Carolina University • Willis Building • 300 East First Street • Greenville, NC 27858-4353 Phone: 301-724-2342 or 252-328-6650, ext. 240 • Fax: 252-328-4356 • E-mail: deliaa@mail.ecu.edu • www.ecu.edu/rds/

Why ECU?

 

ECU’s demonstrated track record positions the school to make such a model fully functional so that it serves as a powerful engine of change in the eastern part of the state.

· ECU prepares more professional educators than any other institution in North Carolina (2004 IHE Report).

· ECU delivers the largest distance-education teacher preparation program in North Carolina (University of North Carolina Office of the President, 2004).

· ECU garnered two national awards for designing “cutting-edge programs” and demonstrating “powerful partnerships with public schools (U.S. Department of Education, 2000 and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 2002).

· ECU has received more than $4 million in grant, corporate and private funds to support its professional preparation programs in the past two years.

February 2005

The quality of educational achievement of students in America has been a major area of concern for the last 50 years.

Realizing that a child’s ability to achieve is a direct correlation of the quality of classroom instruction, East Carolina University acknowledges that teacher preparation programs must dramatically rethink how and to what degree we offer support to our professional educators.

Paramount to this process is the need to provide holistic programs that will address an entire range of issues in the continuum of a high-quality educator’s evolution.

While state and national metrics demonstrate limited success in teacher effectiveness and student success, federal measurements show the state lags in these areas. Although North Carolina was one of six states to receive a B or B+ on Improving Teacher Quality in Education Week's seventh annual 50-state report card, only 56 percent of schools met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals in 2003-2004 set in “No Child Left Behind” legislation.

In rural areas, such as eastern North Carolina, the problem is further exaggerated. Literature suggests that rural school systems run into problems finding qualified administrators and teachers who fit in with the school and community and who will stay in the job, primarily due to feelings of isolation--social, cultural, and professional.

East Carolina University proposes to design and deliver the Eastern North Carolina Center for Excellence in Teaching and Leadership to provide systemic support for professional educators by focusing on solutions to current critical issues

while simultaneously preparing educators for the future and positively impacting student success.

Specifically, the concept tackles:

· Shortages  in teachers and principals;

· The need for professional renewal of school, community college, and university personnel;

· The need for on-site coaching and mentoring services for teachers and administrators;

· The need for continuous assessment of the professional development needs of educators;

· The need to prepare education professionals in ways that reflect the real contexts in which they will be employed; and

· The need to conduct research on teaching and learning relative to P-12 student achievement.

 

WHY ECU?

ECU’s demonstrated track record of excellence in teaching and educational leadership positions the school to make such a model fully functional so that it serves as a powerful engine of change in the eastern part state and a model for others.

· Bullet #1… etc.