U. College of Education among top secondary teacher preparation programs nationwide

U. College of Education among top secondary teacher preparation programs nationwide

(Alex Goodlett, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah's College of Education is considered one of the top secondary teacher preparation programs in the country, according to the latest ratings by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

The U.'s secondary education program received top-tier recognition for its admission standards, teaching candidates' content area preparation, and the art and science of teaching.

"Our mantra has always been student ready day one. The nature of the job doesn't really allow for on-the-job training, particularly with children with disabilities and children who are language learners. Certainly all children need people who are ready day one," said Mary D. Burbank, director of the university's Urban Institute for Teacher Education.

To achieve that end, the teacher preparation program uses a research-to-practice model that puts research and proven practices to work in schools where teacher candidates work with students.

"We're lucky to be at a research-intensive university in that we’re able to look specifically at research at any number of areas in education from literacy to interactions with youth to language learning and assessment. The partnerships we have with our schools allow us to apply what students are learning in their courses in very tangible ways," said Burbank, who is also assistant dean of the College of Education.

The U. was the only school in the state to be included on the council's list of the “Nation’s Top Tier Secondary Teacher Prep Programs.” The university is one of only 16 programs nationwide to be included on the list.

Margarita Ruiz-Hernandez, who graduated from the U.'s program a year ago and is about to complete her first year of teaching at Salt Lake's Bryant Middle School, said her preparation enabled her to collaborate effectively with other teachers.

"When I started my professional learning communities, I felt like I was capable to have those conversations with them and I was on board knowing what the terminology meant and the theories and concepts they were using. I did feel prepared in those ways," she said.

But becoming a full-fledged classroom teacher was a big leap from student teaching, she said. Student teaching "definitely did help me," Ruiz-Hernandez said, but managing her own classroom was highly demanding.

University of Utah graduate Margarita Ruiz-Hernandez teaches a class at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Monday, May 22, 2017. (Photo: Alex Goodlett, Deseret News)
University of Utah graduate Margarita Ruiz-Hernandez teaches a class at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Monday, May 22, 2017. (Photo: Alex Goodlett, Deseret News)

Although Ruiz-Hernandez prepared to teach health, she was hired to teach English language development and an elective called Advancement Via Individual Determination. The class helps underserved, first-generation college–bound students participate in rigorous course work to help them prepare higher education.

While it was not the job she envisioned while in college, Ruiz-Hernandez draws on her own experiences as a first-generation college student whose parents were immigrants as she instructs her students.

She, too, was an English language learner. Although she always wanted to be a teacher, she didn't believe "that anyone like me could attend college or graduate from college."

Now with a degree in education and an endorsement in English language development she earned before graduation, Ruiz-Hernandez said she's motivated to "be the person I felt I needed when I was in school."

While most Utah school districts have made great strides this spring in increasing teacher pay thanks to local efforts and state lawmakers appropriating a 4 percent increase in the value of the weighted pupil unit, Burbank said strong teacher preparation programs are also key to retaining teachers.


Our mantra has always been student ready day one.

–Mary D. Burbank, director of the University of Utah's Urban Institute for Teacher Education


"It's a compilation of factors from salary to preparation to just the overall emphasis and morale within the profession. So, while it's critical that we look at indicators individually like salary and preparation, together we really have to look at why people go into the field and also why they stay in the field," she said.

As school districts look to fill hundreds of teaching positions by this fall, the number of teachers entering traditional teacher education programs have dropped in recent years.

Applicants with alternative teaching certifications are competing with students who graduate from schools of education who bring student teaching experience, instruction in special education and proven strategies to teach content areas.

"The challenge we face in higher education is the explosion of alternative routes to teaching, including Utah's Academic Pathway to Teaching, which bypasses traditional programs, bypasses preparation coursework and does not require the same level of rigor and preparation.

"Understandably folks need to fill classrooms, so alternative programs are an emergency response, but it reflects the daunting nature of the employment need," she said.

University of Utah graduate Margarita Ruiz-Hernandez teaches a class at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Monday, May 22, 2017. (Photo: Alex Goodlett, Deseret News)
University of Utah graduate Margarita Ruiz-Hernandez teaches a class at Bryant Middle School in Salt Lake City on Monday, May 22, 2017. (Photo: Alex Goodlett, Deseret News)

While the recognition of the National Council on Teacher Quality is heartening, Burbank said there is much work to do to encourage young people to commit to teaching as a career and obtaining their training through comprehensive teacher preparation programs.

"While we're very grateful for the acknowledgement and recognition, our work isn't done and we need to continue to be creative and supportive. We're enlisting partnerships with Granite District, soon to be Canyons District, for internship programs which allow us to pay a subset of students as part of their student teaching," she said.

Ruiz-Hernandez said she believes longer, and paid, student teaching experience would have helped her better prepare for the demands of the classroom.

With one year of experience to draw on, Ruiz-Hernandez said she's excited to return to Bryant Middle School next fall.

"I learned a lot. They say the first year is hard and it was definitely hard to get started. I think I grew a lot and it went really well," she said.

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