IL State University College of Education Dean Exchanges Ideas with UNC
June 24, 2004
Hunt Institute Hosts Dr. Dianne Ashby
CHAPEL HILL, NC, June 24, 2004 – The James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy hosts a visit to the University of North Carolina June 23-25 by Dr. Dianne Ashby, Dean of Illinois State University’s College of Education.
Ashby meets with UNC President Molly Broad and the Dean’s Council to discuss strategies for improving teacher education programs. The second-largest producer of teachers among the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Illinois State University offers thirty seven accredited teacher education programs. Ashby has held the top post there since 2001.
Ashby notes several areas of shared interest between Illinois State University and the University of North Carolina, including addressing teacher shortages, finding ways to use data to assess teacher quality, creating alternate entry to teaching programs, positioning successful education leaders to influence education policy and building partnerships between P-12 schools and colleges of education to create better teachers.
Ashby brings the perspective of a practitioner and administrator from a large, urban school system, having held various administrative and teaching positions in PK-12 schools and at the Illinois State Board of Education. She is the author of numerous publications on school reform and school leadership.
Illinois State University’s partnership with Chicago-area public schools is a model for teacher preparation programs, devoting a student’s entire senior year to hands-on classroom experience. “By the time our students get done with their student teaching, they are pretty close to being second year teachers,” says Ashby. This approach better prepares students for the reality of taking over their own classrooms, she says, noting that mentor-teachers and parents alike are positive about the partnership.
Schools are taking note as well. “Hiring data tells us that these students are more attractive,” Ashby says. Illinois State University is currently examining data to study what impact the program – which costs approximately an additional $1,500 annually per student teacher – has had on teacher retention.
Ashby praises UNC’s commitment to graduating quality teachers. “I have a wonderful president, so I can recognize how great it is for the president of such a large university system to decide to make high quality teachers a priority,” says Ashby. “[Molly Broad’s] leadership on this is extraordinary.”
Ashby’s visit to UNC is another in a series of teacher quality focused events recently sponsored by the Hunt Institute. Earlier this month, the Institute convened its annual Governors Education Symposium in Asheville, where sixteen current and former governors discussed teacher quality issues with each other and with national education experts.
Headquartered at UNC’s Center for School Leadership Development in Chapel Hill, the Hunt Institute assists North Carolina political, business and education leaders in creating and implementing strategies to sustain state-level educational improvement. Through its affiliation with the University, the Hunt Institute promotes the state by brokering visits by national thought leaders, showcasing North Carolina’s premier university system and highlighting North Carolina’s many education reform policies.
“Just as we pay tribute to North Carolina’s achievements in education across the nation, the Hunt Institute also works to bring education leaders from other states here to share their challenges and successes,” says Dr. Judith Rizzo, the Hunt Institute’s Executive Director. “Dianne is an example of education leadership at its best and we are delighted to host her visit to North Carolina.”
Rizzo cites Illinois State University’s adoption of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards guidelines into its teacher preparation curriculum as a model for other colleges of education.
“By incorporating National Board standards into its course of study and creating partnerships with public schools, Illinois State University is producing teachers who are better prepared and trained to meet the actual needs of schools,” Rizzo says.
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Working at the intersection of policy and politics, the James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, founded in 2001, engages governors and other political, business and education leaders in strategic efforts to advance and sustain state-level education reform. For additional information about the Hunt Institute, visit www.hunt–institute.org, or call (919) 843-0182.