Contact: John Chandler ,
(818) 677-2130
jchandler@exec.csun.edu

Town Hall Meetings Scheduled on Teacher Preparation

The three evening sessions of the Commission on Excellence in Teacher Preparation - a partnership of university, education and community leaders appointed by CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson - will include presentations on innovative techniques and discussion of how to best prepare teachers.

CSUN has one of the largest teacher preparation programs in California and has committed to a university-wide effort to redesign its training for elementary, secondary and special education teachers. The commission is planning a yearlong process culminating with a report to the university's president.

The two-hour sessions are scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. as follows:

• Tuesday, April 27, at the Cal State Northridge University Club, on Dearborn Street west of Zelzah Avenue. Includes a presentation on "Student Achievement in America" by Phyllis Hart, executive director of The Achievement Council in Los Angeles.
• Thursday, May 13, at Francis Polytechnic High School, 12431 Roscoe Blvd., Sun Valley. Includes a presentation on "Teacher Quality" by Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust in Washington, D.C.
• Thursday, May 27, at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, 13330 Vaughn St., San Fernando. Includes a presentation on "Reform Efforts in Higher Education" by a panel of experts, including participants from the university's DELTA/ACT program.

CSUN Provost Louanne Kennedy, a commission member, said the three public meetings will seek input from public school teachers and administrators, parents and community leaders, university faculty, teachers union and social service agency representatives and school reform leaders.

"What we want to hear is, what do they want us to know about what needs to change in the public schools for their kids to be successful," said Kennedy, who will become CSUN's interim president when President Wilson steps down in June to head an education foundation.

The commission, with nearly 30 members appointed in December from both on- and off-campus, is being co-chaired by Mary Kay Tetreault, interim dean of CSUN's College of Education, and Maria A. Casillas, president of the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project.

The commission and its yearlong review of the university's teacher preparation programs are an outgrowth of the Cal State University system's 1997 designation of CSUN as a charter college for its teacher preparation programs. CSUN is one of only two universities in the country with that status.

Charter status provides the opportunity for the university to make rapid changes in its teacher preparation programs in such areas as organizational structures, curricula, internal and external collaborations, course and student teaching scheduling, faculty assignments and budgeting.

Campus officials said the commission's expected work will include exploring how successful teacher educators have integrated technologically assisted instruction into their programs, how future teachers can integrate basic skills instruction into all content areas, what characteristics will be needed by future teachers and the role of parents in their children's education.

The yearlong review is being called CSUN's Charter Initiative. The university has contracted with The Achievement Council, a respected, independent school reform organization, to lead the design process. Phyllis Hart, executive director of The Achievement Council, is a member of the commission. Also, Barbara Bush of The Achievement Council is serving as the project coordinator for the university's Charter Initiative process.