In August of 2013, the governing body for teacher education adopted new standards for accreditation. These five standards, particularly Standard 2: Clinical Partnerships and Practice, reflect a national strategy to transform teacher education through clinical practice. The purpose of this curriculum-development project is to advance NMU’s Educator Preparation Program locally and nationally by forging a formal and collaborative agreement with clinical partners to prepare secondary (grades 6-12) teachers through purposeful field experiences (Standard 2). In fall of 2015, NMU’s Educator Preparation Program will pilot the new pathway for accreditation under the new standards. This fall (2014), approved changes to the Secondary Education program include a new strategically situated practicum course (ED 380); this course will prepare secondary education teachers through clinical experiences and will identify data points for documenting the new standards for accreditation. Nevertheless, to meet ED 380 course objectives and CAEP Standard 2, this course must have a formal and collaborative partnership in place with local secondary school sites. Support from this grant will help utilize the summer months (1) to position NMU’s secondary education program at the same award-winning level as its elementary education program, (2) to establish data collection procedures needed to complete the standards-focused self-study required for national accreditation, and (3) to bolster NMU’s Educator Preparation Program as it paves the new pathway for national accreditation as a model institution
