Main Menu NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Ericca Reynolds Clark (reynoldse@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
8/26/2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES-The College of Education at Northwestern State University has been awarded a grant from the Entergy Charitable Foundation and the Council for a Better Louisiana. This is the third year in a row NSU has received a grant from Entergy.
This strategic grant focuses on such issues as improving professional standards, increasing the number of highly qualified candidates entering the field, retention of beginning teachers, research-based teaching strategies and improving teacher training in colleges and on-the-job.
Money for the grants comes from the Entergy Charitable Foundation's
Excellence in Education Investment Fund, which contributes between
$200,000-$250,000 each year to support innovative programs that
raise the level of teaching in the state.
"More than ever, academic progress is critical to our state's
future and we believe one of the best ways to accomplish that
is to support innovative approaches that will have a direct, positive
impact on our children," said Renae Conley, President &
CEO of Entergy Louisiana.
According to the Dr. Cathy Seymour, director of Field Experiences in the College of Education, one innovative approach NSU is conducting is the "clustering" of student teachers.
"We place a group of our student teachers at one school," said Seymour. "This provides more peer support among the student teachers and among the teachers themselves. It also allows the university supervisor to pay more attention to the student teachers because of the convenience of only visiting one school."
The 2002-2003 school year was the first year Seymour used the concept of clustering teachers at one school. She placed the student teachers at Bolton High School in Alexandria.
"The clustering of student teachers had a very positive outcome," said Penny Toney, principal of Bolton High School. "The power of communication was greatly increased on both sides. There was a faster learning curve for the student teachers. The overall anxiety level was lower."