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Contact: Ericca Reynolds (reynoldse@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
5/23/2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES-Northwestern State University has become the first university in Louisiana to sign an articulation agreement for the Teacher Cadet program, a statewide effort promoted by the Consortium for Research, Education and Technology (CERT).
CERT is a collaboration formed to match north Louisiana's diverse educational resources with the workforce, research and develop needs of the citizens and businesses in the 22 parishes. Participating institutions include: the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, Bossier Parish Community College, Centenary College, Grambling State University, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana Technical College, NSU, Southern University at Shreveport and the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Northwestern President Randall J. Webb is president of CERT.
"As we will be the first to sign, this is an affirmation of what CERT has done," said Patti Trudell, executive director of CERT. "This is going to say to other universities 'you need to be on board, too.'"
Northwestern was one of nine universities to sign an articulation agreement with the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at its May meeting. The agreement was signed by others including Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education E. Joseph Savoie, State Superintendent of Education Cecil Picard and University of Louisiana System President Sally Clausen.
The Teacher Cadet articulation effort will attract high school students to explore teaching as their life's work and address an ongoing teacher shortage. Based on Louisiana's occupational forecast, there is an annual demand for more than 2,200 teachers. By providing structured field experiences, Teacher Cadet encourages students to consider teaching in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as in critical shortage areas such as math, science and special education.
"This is a win-win situation for all of us. Students are attracted into quality education programs and universities," said Webb. "Quality students become quality teachers who benefit our young people. In turn, our schools become magnets for attracting and retaining business and industry in our state.
This is the CERT model for partnerships among post-secondary institutions and local school systems. It is our hope that this model can be replicated in other programs and implemented throughout the state."
This effort will save time and money as students who successfully complete the course at a teacher cadet site are eligible to receive three core education credits at any participating Louisiana post-secondary institution.
Teacher Cadet is a standards based curriculum offering a challenging authentic curriculum that is aligned with the Louisiana content standards foundation skills, NCATE and the Louisiana Components of Effective Teaching.
According to Dr. Anthony Scheffler, associate provost at NSU, Teacher Cadet will also serve as a recruitment and retention tool for Louisiana schools and universities.
""Expanding Teacher Cadet to multiple high school sites can improve our chances of attracting students to attend and graduate from Louisiana colleges and universities and to consider teaching in Louisiana," said Scheffler. "NSU has committed to sign this agreement and will encourage other post-secondary institutions in CERT and statewide to participate as well."