Increase collaboration between
EPPs and school districts
Partnerships between EPPs and districts are
critical to ensuring that candidates receive
high-quality field experiences before they
enter the classroom. The state should highlight
and provide examples of promising strategies
that could improve collaboration between
EPPs and districts.
The TDOE is taking initial steps to develop
models for partnerships through the Network
for Educator Preparation Partnerships pilot.
However, the department must also support
and sustain partnerships for EPPs and districts
that are not participating in the pilot. Lessons
from the pilot should inform efforts to strengthen
student teaching experiences, especially
through use of a rubric that better matches
mentor teachers with student teachers.
• The department is slated to release a report
in the summer of 2017 about the Network
for Educator Preparation Partnerships pilot,
highlighting strategies that both EPPs and
districts could use. This report should identify
and scale practices that could improve
collaboration between EPPs and districts.
• The newly created Director of Networks
and Partnership role within the TDOE is an
opportunity for the department to support
collaboration between EPPs and districts.
The Director of Networks and Partnerships
and the Tennessee Organization of School
Superintendents can take an active role
engaging directors of schools and other
district leaders to spread awareness and
deepen understanding of this role and its
potential to strengthen critical relationships
between EPPs and LEAs.
• The TDOE should encourage EPPs
to develop and use a rubric to better
match mentor teachers with student
teachers. The Network for Educator
Preparation Partnerships pilot provides
an opportunity to develop and test this
rubric.
Develop a clear process for
reviewing and approving EPPs
The SBE should create a rigorous policy for
interim reviews when data indicate that a
provider or program is below standards. The
first set of interim reviews should take place no
later than the spring of 2018. The state should
also encourage school districts to be involved in
the review process for EPPs.
The program review and approval process is
an important way of assessing the quality of an
EPP. The state’s process for program approval is
relatively new, and there are several opportunities
for state policymakers to strengthen interim
reviews and create a timeline that communicates
the urgency of reviewing programs. The first set
of annual reports are scheduled to be released
in spring of 2017, and the department should use
these data to develop criteria for interim reviews
by summer of 2017. The SBE and the TDOE
should also work together to create policies that
encourage districts to participate in the review
process for EPPs.
• The TDOE should publish clear guidelines
for identifying which EPPs will participate
in an interim review. These guidelines
should include clear language about what
criteria would initiate an interim review, as
well as a firm timeline for beginning the
first set of interim reviews. The criteria for
interim reviews should be developed by
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