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College Partnerships: A key component in South Carolina's teacher recruitment continuum CERRA and the College Partnership Teachers in Residence
College partner coordinators are supported by the regional teachers in residence who make site visits to Teacher Cadet classes and college partner campuses. The Teacher in Residence (TIR) should be included in planning sessions between college partner coordinators and their network schools. They are also available to help with planning and coordinating special events hosted by the college partner site during the year for their Cadet sites. Curriculum Training
Each new college partner coordinator will find the Teacher Cadet curriculum training extremely helpful. Training is held annually during the summer. For more information on upcoming trainings, contact Chalica Pack. College Partner Meeting
Each August, prior to the beginning of school, the college partner coordinators meet to discuss plans for the year and to share ideas with other college partner coordindators in the network. It is during this meeting that we encourage the coordinators to hold planning meeting with the Teacher Cadet instructors with whom they work. Grants
The college partner may be able to receive a grant for each site that it supports. Any funds carried over from the previous year will be deducted from the amount requested. In other words, college partners will not be awarded new funds until the carry-over funds have been expended. This money is to be used to enhance the efforts and support offered through the college partnership, including the procurement of speakers for the Teacher Cadet classes, books, videos, professional magazines or periodicals, and to help defray the cost of tuition or admission charges when the college grants college credit to the Cadet in its network. A financial report is required at the end of each school year. Workshop
A workshop which focuses on the latest issues and trends in education as well as research on the Teacher Cadet program (and other CERRA programs) is held annually each autumn. At the workshop, college partner coordinators have the opportunity to share ideas and concerns with other college partner coordinators from across the state and have time to plan and work with Teacher Cadet instructors in their networks. One of the primary purposes of the combined conference is for high school teachers and college partner coordinators to build an enhanced sense of collegiality. Resources
All materials and resources housed at the CERRA are available for use by the college partner coordinators. These include curriculum-related videos available for loan (as listed in the Teacher Cadet instructors' manual) as well as handouts relating to teacher supply and demand, financial aid and other teacher recruitment materials. Materials may be requested contacting the Center. College Credit (2006-2007) Twenty-four of South Carolina's 30 colleges and universities with teacher education programs provide support to the Teacher Cadet sites. In most cases, it is the Teacher Cadet's responsibility to request a transcript from the credit-awarding institution to the institution he or she is attending. This transfer request, which may include a nominal fee, must be signed, dated, and include the Teacher Cadet's full name, date of birth, social security number, dates of Teacher Cadet course and the name of the high school. College Partner Campus Coordinators (2007-2008) What the College Partner Can Do
Colleges can provide many different services to their sites. The obvious area of help is the depth of knowledge about education that the college partner brings to the program. Ideas include: - ProTeam College Visitation Days: campus tours, admissions information, panel discussions with college students geared toward accomplished middle school students
- Teacher Cadet College Visitation Day: campus tours, admissions information, classroom visitations, faculty presentations, financial aid workshops, panel discussions with college freshmen -- particularly former Cadets
- Planning Sessions for All Teacher Cadet Instructors in The Network: activities planning, content presentations such as Human Growth Development
- Mini-Education Workshop on Campus: thematic or general, good opportunity to showcase faculty members
- Materials: videos, books, magazines, computer software
- Speaker's Bureau: list of speakers from the college and the community, topic
- Student/Parent Reception: opportunity to show students' work (e.g. puppets, brochures, day care centers), contest among schools- education slogans
- Ropes Challenge Course/Team Building: on your campus or sponsor a field trip to a ropes course
- Newsletter: an excellent means of communication among Cadet instructors and Cadets
- E-mail Distribution List and/or Telephone Chain: to save time and keep everyone in the network informed
Classroom Activities
College partners can provide a wealth of knowledge about education to the Teacher Cadets. In their work in Cadet classrooms, college partners often offer materials or presentations in areas such as human growth and development, learning styles, special education, the history of education, and certification requirements In the ideal partnership, the Teacher Cadet instructor and the college partner each work from their particular areas of strength and through joint planning to offer the Cadets an exciting, enriched experience. In order to facilitate smooth transitions between the activities of the Teacher Cadet instructor and those of the college partner, long-range planning is essential. While there are certainly many methods of planning, perhaps one of the most effective is to begin by using a semester or yearly pacing guide to schedule major units of study. After these units have been scheduled, the Cadet instructor and the college partner can work together to plan activities, lectures, videotapes, and other learning experiences which college faculty can present throughout that unit of study. Assessment of Cadet Work
College partners who issue college credit use many different methods for holding Cadets accountable for their learning. Some partners work with the Cadet instructor and incorporate grades and evaluations for college activities into the grading system set up by the Cadet instructor. The following list provides some examples of forms that evaluation and grading may take.
- Journals or logs of reactions to class activities and readings
- Class presentations or projects
- Essays
- Research papers
- Portfolios or cumulative projects that ask students to synthesize learning
For more information, contact Tria Grant, Program Director, CERRA, Stewart House at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733, 803.323.4032 or 800.476.2387.
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