Main MenuNEWS RELEASE
Contact: Leigh Flynn
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
7/22/99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - Northwestern State University's College of Education is hosting an assessment training workshop for college education faculty and experienced teachers July 26-30.
The Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program, sponsored by the state's Department of Education, trains experienced teachers and education faculty to become external assessors.
Dr. Sally Hunt, director of Field Experiences in the College of Education, said the purpose of the external assessors is to support and assess recent graduates prior to their obtaining a permanent teaching certification.
"It gives us a way to follow our graduates into the field," Hunt said. "And it is very supportive for our recent graduates to know they have this support, this bridge from college into a teaching environment."
The workshop, which will be held in the Teacher Education Center at Northwestern, is for college education faculty members who serve in a supervisory capacity and for experienced teachers who are qualified to serve as an assessor.
Hunt said a number of Northwestern's education faculty members have been encouraged to obtain their assessor certification. Then, as they assess the new teachers within the surrounding area, they are more likely to know the training the teachers received while in college. Hunt said the workshop training would also help education faculty know what additional elements of teaching they should emphasize in their methods and student teaching programs.
The Louisiana Assistance and Assessment Program was established by the Louisiana Legislature in 1994 as the Louisiana Teacher Assessment Program. The legislation establishing the program was revised and renamed the Louisiana Assistance and Assessment Program in 1998.
The revised program calls for a mentor teacher and principal to provide assistance during the first semester and design a professional development plan for the teacher. The mentor will lead professional development activities designed to enhance teacher competencies found to be essential to student learning. During the assessment period, at least two trained assessors will evaluate the new teacher's performance and make recommendations to the Louisiana Department of Education and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding the teacher's certification.
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