Education Department

Newsletter Team

August 2011

Education Department

Over the past decade, educators have been asked to scale seemingly insurmountable obstacles that include state and federal man- dates with fewer and fewer funds. Public school system administrators are expected to navigate the landscape of unfunded man-dates and increased accountability measures through strategic decision-making and a net-work of community support. As a former prin-cipal, navigating the landscape began with providing meaningful and relevant instruc-tional experiences for my students every day. Recruiting, hiring, and supporting new teach-ers were essential to ensuring the diverse needs of every student were addressed. A partnership with the Roanoke College Educa-tion Department assisted me by providing access to the best new graduates as well as to professional develop-ment for new and veteran teachers. Amidst high-stakes accountability and edu- cation reform, Roanoke College’s Education Department remains on the cutting edge as evi-denced by its endorse-ment from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. Honored to be one of the constituents interviewed as a part of the accreditation proc-ess, I could attest to the high quality profes-sional development partnership and effective- ness of the teachers who graduate from the education program. John Baker, Stephanie Doyle, and Andrew Sayers are three graduates from the Educa-tion Department who were among my most effective teachers. As novice teachers, all were masters of their subject matter and delivered engaging and effective lessons that

promoted student learning. Instructional leaders new to teaching in an urban environ-ment, their students loved them and veteran teachers respected their work and opinion. From over 18 years of experience in public education, I have learned that improving instruction does not end with hiring the best teachers. Specifically, novice and veteran teachers flourish in professional learning communities that include opportunities for meaningful dialog and leadership develop-ment. Annually since 2000, Drs. Murrill and Reynolds have co-directed the teacher pro-fessional development Copenhaver Institute for PreK-12 teachers and administrators. Held in high regard by area school divisions, the three-day summer Copenhaver Institute

fills quickly as partici-pants know they will learn best practices from the nation’s lead-ing educational schol-ars and practitioners. Collaboration with the Education Department extends beyond the Copenhaver Institute. Its team of professors recognizes the impor-tance of facilitating on-going, meaningful dia-log that is guided by the love for children and evidence-based practice. The foundation

for this collaboration includes, but is not limited to, on-site observations, targeted assistance, master teachers as clinical faculty members, and curriculum development. Recognizing and supporting the call for teaching with heart and expertise, I salute the Roanoke College Education Department for its continued educational leadership locally, nationally and internationally.

An Administrator’s Perspective on Roanoke College Teacher Candidates

by Asia R. Jones, Ed.D Executive Director for Student Support Services, Roanoke City Public Schools

Dr. Tim Reynolds, Chair

Prof. Katie Elmore, Editor

Linda Lindsay, Assistant

Editor

Inside this issue:

Message from the

Chair 2

Staff news 2

Special Thanks 3

News from Alumni 4

Teachers of

Promise 4

KDP News 5

Guest Alumnus 5

Literacy Project 5

Important Dates 6

Copenhaver

Institute 6

Page 2

Staff News Message from the Chair

Reader Beware: Uncovering Efforts of False Reform

A s I reached the podium to hand out end-of-the-year promotion certificates, the sixth-grade class broke into applause. I stood surprised and honored, saying to myself, “I don’t know what you

learned this year, but I learned a whole lot.” It was the end of my first year of teaching — a year that had begun in fourth grade, and because of unexpected enrollment numbers, had ended with me teaching sixth grade. What a year it was. I taught at an inner city school with a provi-sional teaching certificate. Thrilled and excited, I started the year know-ing nothing about the classroom, except what it was to be a student. I knew zilch of curriculum or pedagogy or the dynamics of multicultural students. By mid-year I was sinking and didn’t even know the feeling was to be expected by a first-year teacher. In June, I dragged myself to promo-tion day. Thinking back to 1986, I’m confident the students left knowing that I genuinely cared for them and I had tried my best, but I’m troubled that these bright minds had a year where a teacher left too many things undone and sent them on without really knowing if they had learned or not.

Fortunately, the uncertainty in my teaching practice began to change. By the next year I had started a master’s in curriculum and instruction. It was amazing how my classroom began to shift as I learned theory and practice. In addition, my philosophy began to take root and flourished with student achievement, a result of academic study – of applying the research and science of teaching. It was such an invigorating and exciting time that after I received my master’s degree, I continued studying pedagogy and curriculum, eventually earning a Ph.D. in the field and sharing my work with young aspiring teachers – “teacher wanna-bes.”

In the ensuing years I’ve seen a great deal of changes, most troubling a tendency among some reform agents to denigrate and negate teachers. Instead of asking how the U.S. poverty rate for children (the highest of all industrial nations) is impacting learning, they are asking how stan-dardized test scores compare with nations whose children’s poverty rate is 10-15% lower than the U.S. (The Flat World and Education, Darling-Hammond, 2010). Instead of exploring working conditions in schools and employment patterns of young workers, they are blaming teacher col-leges for 50% of new teachers leaving the field within the first five years. Instead of recognizing that high performing nations are de-emphasizing standardized tests in favor of assessments that measure students’ depth of content knowledge, reformers are demanding more standardized tests which often measure superficial knowledge and encourage teachers to cover the breadth of content versus teaching students to understand and apply a subject area (The Flat World and Education, Darling-Hammond, 2010). Instead of turning to a century of research in student learn-ing and effective teaching, they are embracing rote learning and instructional materials that re-quire teachers to march students through a curriculum adhering to a timetable, not to the learn-ing needs based on student differences. And, by not acknowledging the glaring economic segre-gation embedded in our school system, the critics are failing to acknowledge the causes of our nation’s achievement gaps for African-Americans and Latinos. Is it then surprising that a recent report by the National Center on Education and the Economy describes American education re-form as being “out of sync with high performing nations”? (Education Week, May 2011) But unfor-tunately, many of our nation’s public education policy makers are unaware or are ignoring such reports and the deficits in the last dec-ades of school reform.

Michelle Tarpy has been secretary in the Roanoke College Edu-cation Department for the past 12 years. Origi-nally from Norman, Okla., she graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in business administration. Since then, she has lived and worked in Oklahoma, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Michelle and her hus-band, Mike, live in Roa-noke with their teenage daughter, Mikala. The family enjoys hiking, vacationing at the beach and attending Mikala’s volleyball and soccer games.

The education faculty depends on Michelle’s organizational and management skills everyday and gratefully acknowledges the gift of her cheerful presence to the department!

… “I’ve seen a great deal of changes, most

troubling a tendency among some reform

agents to denigrate and negate teachers.” (cont. on page 3)

Page 3

(cont. from page 2)

Now another special interest group, The National Council

of Teacher Quality (NCTQ), is positioning itself to rate the

nation’s colleges of teacher education. The organization,

publicly known for its anti-teacher education stance, aligns

itself with the failed reformed efforts of recent decades. In

collaboration with U.S. News and World Report, NCTQ pro-

poses to review the course descriptions, syllabi and text-

books of the nation’s teacher education programs and

then rate the programs by standards which fail to adhere

to the current cognitive science research on teaching and

learning. NCTQ’s review will not explore the outcomes of

teacher education programs such as employer satisfaction

or graduates’ impact on student learning. Its review does

not require a site visit to institutions or to the schools

where graduates work. Why is this? Because NCTQ is start-

ing its “research” with a fore-drawn conclusion: “teacher

education is broken.” It masks its agenda behind broadly

subjective standards not vetted by external, impartial refe-

rees. In addition, NCTQ refuses to follow research protocols

assuring the public its methodology is valid and reliable.

This should sound alarms across

our entire field for not only is it an

attack on the professional careers

of the nation’s teachers, it also

threatens the research that will

prepare today’s youth for jobs that

do not even yet exist. It’s a men-

ace to teacher preparation pro-

grams because NCTQ denies our

programs provide rich content

knowledge and strong pedagogical training. It leads the

nation down a path of avoidable teacher shortages that

are caused by inadequate investments in teacher prepara-

tion and limited incentives for entering teaching.

With these factors in mind, Roanoke College Teacher Edu-

cation Program will not collaborate with NCTQ in its review

of education programs. We are joined by many other insti-

tutions across the country, and at this writing, NCTQ does

not report any Virginia schools as participants. Across the

nation only four states have all their schools of education

participating and only two state superintendents have

endorsed the project. Roanoke’s education faculty has

made this decision in careful consultation with the College

administration, our state and national professional associ-

ations, our national accrediting body, and the Association

of American Universities. We will continue our current

means of public accountability, including program reviews by

the Virginia State Board of Education, biennial reports to the

U.S. Department of Education, and a rigorous accrediting proc-

ess by the Teacher Education Accrediting Council.

Initially, NCTQ threatened to fail institutions that did not partic-

ipate in the project. In more recent months, they have backed

off this coercion strategy, but it remains unknown how they will

label those of us who choose to remain on course with account-

ability methods established by professional organizations and

by state and federal departments of education. The NCTQ/U.S.

News and World Report ratings are projected for fall 2012. When

released, remember the conclusions are questionable at best.

For reliable and valid measurements of our program outcomes,

see our reports at the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department

of Education and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council.

For me, this matter of ratings is not just about the present

urgency of education reform, but it is also about my first group

of students who worked patiently with me as I waited for profes-

sional training and education. Research has demonstrated that

students will not greatly suffer

from one year of working with a

teacher unprepared for the class-

room. However, the research

does indicate that if students

encounter a series of unprepared

teachers, their education is

harmed. For their sakes, I hope

my first students met teachers in

their future years that had mas-

tered content and pedagogy and

were able to make a difference in student learning. I’m grateful I

did not have to continue blundering through the classroom and

curriculum. Instead, a teacher education program provided me

with skills and understandings in content and pedagogy that

made a difference and enabled me to impact student learning.

My goal is to continue providing “teacher wanna-bes” with such

valuable instruction and stand with my colleagues in PreK-12

classrooms as practitioners of a research-based profession.

Special Thanks

The Education Department thanks

Roy P. McKenzie and Bambi C. Sidwell

for their recent gifts to the program.

“My goal is to continue providing ‘teacher

wanna-bes’ with such valuable instruction

and stand with my colleagues in PreK-12

classrooms as practitioners of a research-

based profession.”

Page 4

2011 Teachers of Promise

by Megan Mooney

Nine students chosen for their exceptional qualities as pre-

service educators were named Teachers of Promise (TOP) by

Roanoke College education faculty. They are Megan Corsnitz,

Lucy Crook, Elizabeth Franz, Emily Martin, Paige Mason, Jessica

McArdle, Megan Mooney, Courtney Stinnette and Shannon

Yopp. Franz, Mooney and Yopp attended the annual TOP Insti-

tute at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.

The Institute theme focused on how the best teachers bring out

the magic of learning in their classrooms. During the weekend,

attendees were grouped with award-winning Virginia educators

who acted as mentors. Students also participated in several

workshops about a variety of topics, including classroom man-

agement, differentiation and building individual relationships

with students.

Lorraine Suminski Lange ’69 was named Superintendent of the

Year for the State of Virginia. She was chosen from among 133

superintendents in Virginia. Lorraine began her career as a

teacher and quickly moved to assistant principal and principal

and ultimately to superintendent in 2006. She holds an Ed.D.

from Virginia Tech. Lorraine was the recipient of the Margaret

Sue Copenhaver Institute Education Award for her contributions

to the field and was honored at the Institute’s luncheon in June.

Doug Clark ’72 completed the doctorate program in higher edu-

cation management at the University of Pennsylvania in May

2011.

Steve Franco ’89, a teacher of theater arts at Glenvar High

School, was named among the finalists across Roanoke County

Public Schools for the 2011 Golden Apple Award. Each year

teachers are nominated by students, parents, co-workers and

administrators to receive the highest award presented to a

teacher by the Education Foundation.

Sherri Smith Shupe ’93 has been selected to represent the

City of Salem School Division as the 2011 Teacher of the

Year. A teacher at Andrew Lewis Middle School for 16

years, she was chosen from a list of nominees representing

each of Salem’s six schools. All six teachers were honored

at a special reception last March.

Forest Jones ’95 was appointed principal of Andrew Lewis

Middle School, where he once was a student. He earned a

master’s degree from Hollins University and later received

his K-12 administration degree from Radford. He is currently

finishing requirements for a doctorate degree in educational

leadership and policy at Virginia Tech. Before his appoint-

ment as principal at Andrew Lewis, he served as teacher,

coach and most recently, assistant principal.

Katharine Beatty ’01 was appointed principal of Luther

Memorial School in Richmond. She previously served at the

school as upper school coordinator and upper school

English teacher.

Greg D’Addario ’10 is a first-grade teacher at Long Branch

Elementary School in Arlington.

Elizabeth Franz ’11 teaches eighth-grade math at Cave

Spring Middle School.

P. Alan Moore ’11 teaches math at Cave Spring High

School. He also coaches varsity baseball.

Sam Mullen ’11 is teaching second grade at Roanoke Acad-

emy of Math and Science.

Kari Poage ’11 is a teacher at Pathway Christian Academy.

News from alumni

Students from an Intensive Learning class tour the sites of ancient

Rome during May Term 2011: (l-r back row) Tyler Rinko, Kara

Drabick, Haley Boone, Patrick McDonough and Brittany Guill; (l-r

front row) Shelby Duchow and Virginia Moore

Page 5

Congratulations to 2011 Kappa Delta Pi members: Haley Boone, Phillip Booth, Alicia Clem, Katy Cline, Cynthia Cook, Leah Copeland,

Megan Corsnitz, Kelsey Curran, Jessie Cutts, Ryan Feather, Elizabeth Franz, Ashley Gilroy, Jordan Henderson, Janie Holmes, Courtney

Knowles, John Krippendorf, Rebecca Lemos, Hillary Linkous, Emily Martin, Mariah McMillan, Caitlin Mitchell, Erica Nielsen, Elizabeth

Piecuch, James Riggs, Amanda Sabin, Hana Snowden, Noelle van de Beek, Margaret Wagner and Rebecca Walker

Guest alumnus, Justin Halterman ’04

Justin Halterman is a teacher of modern(1500-present) world history at Salem High School. He chose teaching as a career, he says with a smile, because it combines two of his favorite things– talking and working with young peo-ple. He credits the opportunities offered at Roanoke for giving him “real” experience, and helping pre-pare him as a educator. “I cannot

underestimate the importance of internships and student teaching,” Justin says, “because it gave me a chance to know what is involved with teaching on a daily basis.” He feels that for many college students, these programs can help determine if teaching is the right profession for them.

Justin believes that all students have the right to an excel-lent education and he tries to model that philosophy on a daily basis. He loves his subject and works hard to make it interesting for his students. His goal is to educate them with an understanding of the past so they are knowledge-able about what worked and avoid what didn’t.

When asked if he has advice for students thinking about teaching as a career path, Justin is quick to respond. “Have no delusions: teaching is a tough position; your students are not all going to be like you; they’re not all going to love the subject you are teaching; and they are not all going to be as motivated as you. But also realize that you are in the most rewarding of positions — one that can be instrumen-tal in influencing and encouraging young lives.”

Justin recently completed his master’s degree in history at Virginia Tech. He and his wife Kim (Kidd) Halterman ’01 are proud parents of Elijah.

Professors participate in literacy project

Dr. Maria Stallions and Dr. Leslie Murrill, associate professors of education at Roanoke, are taking part in an “Arts for Learning Literacy Lessons Project,” funded by a five-year, $4 million U.S. Department of Education Investing Innovation grant. The grant was awarded to the Beaverton School District in Oregon, in order to underwrite program development, implementation and evalua- tion of the arts-integrated literacy program. Drs. Stallions and Murrill are training the on-site program assessment researchers.

Murrill also is working on the pre- and post-assessment tools. Stallions is a consultant for second-language learners, instructor modifications and English Language Learners ethnography studies. The program is being implemented in Beaverton’s third, fourth and fifth grades.

“Arts for Learning is such a promising project in literacy educa-tion,” says Murrill. “This is the type of school experience that can turn an at-risk child around and guide him toward future successes as a student and lifelong learner. As a researcher, it’s a real privilege to have a firsthand opportunity to watch this unfold.” In 2009-2010, Roanoke College partnered with a public research and development agency to study the effectiveness of the Arts for Learning program in seven Title I extended-day schools in DeKalb County, Georgia. Both Murrill and Stallions authored the research report. In June 2010, Arts for Learning was the theme for the department’s annual Copenhaver Institute for Teaching and Learning, an event attended by local, state and national educators and pre-service teachers.

Page 6 NON-PROFIT

US POSTAGE

PAID

SALEM, VA

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Department of Education

221 College Lane | Salem, VA 24153

13th Annual

Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute

Understanding by Design: Prioritizing and Targeting Actions to Improve Student Learning

The Institute will be held on the Roanoke Col-lege campus, June 18-20, 2012. The featured keynote speakers are Dr. Grant Wiggins and Dr. Kay Brimijoin.

The Institute will also offer a range of breakout sessions, technology workshops, ser-vice learning projects, and time allotted for designing programs to implement in schools. There will be opportunities for collegial interac-tion, including breakfasts, lunches and after-noon receptions.

The cost to accepted participants is $120; the fee includes participation in all Institute events, two nights lodging at Roanoke College, and session materials.

Important Dates:

August 31, 2011

Day classes begin

September 30-October 1, 2011

Family Weekend

October 15-23, 2011

Fall break

January 16, 2012

Spring classes begin

March 3-11, 2012

Spring break

April 13-15, 2012

Alumni Weekend

June 18-20, 2012

Copenhaver Institute

Keynotes: Grant Wiggins

and Kay Brimijoin

Shelby Duchow teaches young students during her

internship abroad.