Highly Qualified and Highly Effective

By: Noran L. Moffett, Ed.D and Melanie M. Frizzell -

How can the nation produce the educators that are highly effective to fill the classrooms that host the future aspirations of the children with the least opportunity, the most diversity and the greatest potential to join the children with greatest opportunity, the most educational experiences and access?

Will all of our children have the opportunity to engage in the building of the transformational role of the United States of America to lead the global economy in the 21^st Century?

The anecdotal evidence that should be considered is happening in programs around the country. The case study that is reported here offers a glimpse into the future through the triumphs of the past five years. Presidents, Provosts, and higher education administrators in colleges and universities with educator preparation programs should insist that the roles of teacher education administrators and supervisors of preparation programs are held by practioner-scholars who are relevant in the field of education. Why?

The main ingredients for the preparation of highly effective educators of color are the instigators and motivators of teacher preparation or the relationships between the master teacher (Student Teacher Supervisor), the University Supervisor who serves as the link between the pre-service teaching experience (formerly known as student teaching), the Local Education Agency (LEA) placement officer, the school principal and the placement officer for the college or university.

What evidence can be provided to support the ingredients for the successful preparation of educators of color for the Title I schools in communities around the United States of America?

Teacher educators, particularly at HBCUs, (i.e. the college/university preparation professors/administrators in collaboration with P-12 educators who prepare future educators for the roles of teachers, counselors, and educational leaders to serve the children and communities of color) have been historically vested and should remain profoundly responsible for preparing education majors to serve children in Title I Schools. The author can cite anecdotal evidence through the demonstrated knowledge, skills and dispositions of Marissa McDowell, Gerard Latimore and Shereen Zimmerman who are highly effective novice teachers of color. Their passion for teaching children in Title I Schools demonstrates relevance, rigor and a commitment to the relationships needed to serve children in urban, rural and suburban communities.

Preparing highly qualified and highly effective teachers of color for the diverse classrooms in our nation’s schools

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been centrifugal in the preparation of teachers of color for more than 100 years.  The historical roots of HBCU’s are grounded in teacher preparation where their mission and goal has been to prepare teachers to educate children of color.  As Historically Black Colleges and Universities find themselves competing with other universities in many aspects, one aspect that has remained stagnant and untouchable is the quality of instruction and practice that pre-service teachers receive at our institutions.  The creation and continuance of positive relationships with community partners assists many institutions in their candidates’ professional development and their ultimate employment in urban schools.

With the induction of the federal mandate of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), school systems around the nation are requiring teachers to be highly qualified in their content area.  For novice teachers, this can be an adjustment as they begin the highly qualified process during their junior year of undergraduate school by taking their states content examination for certification.  Each state determines their own passing scores on their examinations but candidates should be aware of their states requirements well before the graduation and ultimately the hiring process.

To ensure success, candidates (education majors) should display familiarity of the content knowledge that will be covered on the certification examination.  The candidates’ planned programs should prepare them with enough content knowledge that they should yield a passing score the first time these candidates register for the administration of the Praxis or state specific educator preparation examination.  Candidates should be prepared to supplement their planned program with the following options:

• Certification examination workshops (an innovation that the Associate Dean and Certification Officer at CAU implemented through collaboration with highly effective certified teachers in the field as the workshop presenters).  The focus should be on supplementing the candidates’ lack of content knowledge in preparation for the exam through the lens of the educator who teaches the content in the real world every day.
• Individual preparation.  This should consist of candidates’ commitment to knowing the content areas for which they are seeking to teach by following a strict study schedule that is inclusive of their course preparation and review of the core subject content knowledge in math, social studies, science and English/Language Arts with an emphasis on culturally relevant pedagogical capacity.
• Participation in a mock examination.  This should be done under realistic conditions to support preparation for test day ( i.e. The GACE Workshop Summer Series held at CAU through a collaboration with GSU from subcontract funds provided by the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant was designed to implement this vision in the setting for which the authors have the honor to serve).
• Assess the gaps.  There may not be many gaps but if there are gaps in the planned program and/or the candidates educational training prior to enrolling in the university, a plan of action should be developed.

Children of color require a diverse pool of highly qualified educators to include teachers of color.  Predominately students of color often populate urban educational centers of teaching and learning in Title I Schools. Pre-service teachers should display totality in understanding and assessing students with diverse needs, students’ current content knowledge, and students surrounding community.  Candidates should choose a teacher education program whose focus is on urban education and assisting with the cohesion of the community.

Preparing highly qualified and highly effective teachers of color for the diverse classrooms in our nation’s schools requires dedication and commitment from the university, pre-service teacher and the school in which the candidate will do their pre-service teaching.  Candidates should be as dedicated to their personal achievement as they are to their students.  With personal determination and dedication to the field of education, new teachers can develop and implement innovative ideas that can be used in their pre-service work as well as when they become the teacher of record.

Lessons from the triumphant trio

The triumphant trio of Mr. Gerard Latimore, Ms. Shereen Zimmerman and Ms. Marissa McDowell provide a glimpse into effective outcomes for the preparation of teachers of color who were educated at an HBCU. The trio of teachers have become third grade teachers at the school where they were placed for their first field experience to observe effective teaching and learning in a dynamic, diverse and dedicated school for children of color that had earned a distinguish the first group to matriculate through a revised program for the preparation that emphasized school and community over drill and lecture in the halls of the academy.  The triumphant trio can serve as a case study of overcoming challenges from the past and sustainability through cohort collaboration, community engagement and strong partnership that was forged between the schools and communities in the metropolitan Atlanta community.

The trio of Latimore, McDowell and Zimmerman graduated in the Class of 2008. The triumphant trio overcame the obstacles of passing the certification exam by attending Saturday morning preparation sessions designed to prepare them for the educator preparation exam required to become highly qualified teachers.  Consequently, lessons learned from their success can be attributed to the following factors:

• Pre-service teaching effectiveness- The trio began their student teaching at the start of the academic school year.
• Collaborative support system- The trio was provided with an authentic avenue of support for one another as they studied to pass the various portions of the certification exam.
• Commitment to service- The trio consistently demonstrated a commitment to serving children in Title I schools.  During their matriculation, the trio formed authentic relationships with their university supervisor and the community stakeholders who served the schools and community agencies that served children.
• Commitment to excellence- The trio used the past challenges in their lives as motivation in the pursuit of excellence and they are using this commitment to excellence as third grade teachers.

The triumphant trio are passionate teachers of color.  They are now third grade teachers in the same school setting contributing daily to the lives of urban children.  When all children reach the educational plateau of high school graduation, they should be able to reflect upon a diverse population of teachers that made a difference in their lives.  When your students reflect, you should want to be that teacher.  Whether your goal is to serve in P-5, 6-8 or 9-12, your aspiration as a teacher of color should be to educate those that desire to be educated.  Additionally, teachers of color are not singularly responsible for the transformation of schools that predominately serve children of color.  However, the triumph trio represents the character and quality of educator preparation, novice teacher orientation, and future consideration for highly effective and highly qualified teachers for our nation’s schools.

Dr. Noran L. Moffett, Co-Contributor is the Associate Dean of Education  at Clark Atlanta University and holds faculty rank in the department of educational leadership as an Associate Professor. His work in the academy is to promote improved preparation of candidates seeking roles in teaching and other professional services for schools and communities. noran17@gmail.com

Melanie M. Frizzell is an advocate of improving the instructional  quality of teacher education programs in colleges and universities.  She currently serves as the Assistant Director of a program that prepares Early Childhood Education majors for becoming highly qualified teachers of color.  Her continued focus is on improving teacher education.  Currently, she is pursuing an Ed.D in Educational Leadership at Clark Atlanta University. mfrizzell2014@gmail.com