FROM:                  Office of the Provost

DATE:                    8/24/15

RE:                          Academic Alerts: AA#2015-29 Redesign of the BA Elementary Education Program

The following academic alert has been posted.  Please read for details.

Academic Alert(s):

AA#2015-29 Redesign of the BA Elementary Education Program

RATIONALE:  Several reasons impacted the decision to redesign the BA Elementary Education program (ELE). The first reason is the Illinois State Board of Education's policy changing the grade range for the Elementary Education endorsement on the Professional Educator License (PEL) from Grades K-9 to Grades 1-6 which goes into effect October 1, 2015. All BA Elementary Education candidates entering teacher preparation programs in fall 2015 will receive endorsements on their PEL reflecting the Grades 1-6 designation.

The second reason for the redesign of the BA Elementary Education program stems from involvement in the Chicago Teacher Partnership Project (CTPP), a Teacher Quality Partnership Grant, where program redesign was one of the of the major grant outcomes. The specifics of the redesign include: increased field experiences prior to junior year, increased instruction in content knowledge in the areas of math, science and literacy, and the preparation of teachers for high needs urban schools.

Professional coursework in the BA ELE program has been updated to meet the new 2013 Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (IPTS) and is organized through a new curriculum framework, The Adaptive Cycle of Teaching.

All program coursework is aligned to the 2013 IPTS standards as well as the 2007 Association of Childhood Education International (ACEI) standards, ensuring all program completes graduate with the highest level of knowledge and expertise related to teaching students of elementary age.

The 2015 Academic Alert site is located at:  http://www.nl.edu/about/leadership/provost/academicalerts/2015/

If you want to view alerts from previous years they may be accessed here<http://www.nl.edu/about/leadership/provost/academicalerts/>. You will see academic alerts going back to 2001.