UC Part of National Pilot Program to Ensure Quality Teachers

The University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) is among only 22 institutions nationwide and two in the state of Ohio to be awarded federal funding for a proposal to restructure teacher education programs for future special-education instructors. The $470,000, five-year Special Education Pre-service Training Improvement Grant from the U.S. Department of Education addresses requirements for highly qualified teachers in every classroom as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Under those mandates, UC is part of a national pilot program to redesign special education teacher preparation programs to show that graduates who plan to also teach core content areas, such as English, math and science, also have the background in content knowledge and standards and assessments, as well as evidence-based teaching methods that have been proven successful in reaching every student in the classroom. The UC program will be redesigned for the preparation of special education teachers for kindergarten through 12th grades.

Because UC’s education students take their content-related courses through the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences (A&S), two UC colleges, A&S and CECH, are collaborating on the pilot program.

“There is such a shortage of special education teachers to begin with, so we believe this model will make our graduates highly competitive in terms of being hired,” says UC’s Annie Bauer, a co-principal investigator on the grant and professor of teacher education.

“The Ohio Department of Education welcomes the opportunity to share in this important work with the University of Cincinnati as we look to re-invent the preparation and licensure structure of our future special educators and assure that all students receive high-quality instruction from well prepared teachers,” says Lou Staffilino, associate superintendent, Center for the Teaching Profession, Ohio Department of Education.

“Not only is UC potentially a state leader in preparing special education teachers, but this model could hold state and federal implications for the future,” says Steve Kroeger, grant co-principal investigator, assistant professor of teacher education and coordinator of UC’s special education teacher program.

The program restructuring will be modeled so that special educators would be prepared in middle school content areas, including PRAXIS II assessments that evaluate teaching skill and knowledge of content areas. The program will be redesigned for students who plan to become K-12 licensed special education intervention specialists. The restructuring of the program takes effect during winter quarter.

List of Institutions in the Pilot Program Awarded Federal Funding

• Arizona State University
• California State University (Dominguez Hills)
• East Carolina University
• Florida International University
• Granite State College, N.H.
• Indiana University School of Education
• Indiana University
• Portland State University
• Saginaw Valley State University, Mich.
• San Diego State University
• San Jose State University
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Colorado at Denver
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• University of Northern Iowa
• University of Oregon
• University of South Florida
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Toledo
• University of Washington
• Utah State University
• Vanderbilt University