For more than two decades, Arizona has reported statewide teacher shortages in early childhood, early childhood special education and in English language learning. In 2013, President Obama called on states to create high-quality preschool programs and make them available to all children. At that time, only three out of 10 eligible four-year-olds had access to such programs. A key factor in meeting this charge is creating a highly qualified workforce of teachers who are prepared to provide educational services to all young learners and their families.
How can Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College increase the number of highly qualified middle and high school teachers in math and science to meet a growing need in the state of Arizona?
There is a need to increase the number of highly qualified STEM teachers. To become highly qualified under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, teachers must have a bachelor’s degree, a valid Arizona teaching license and pass the National Evaluation Series tests administered by Pearson for the curriculum they plan to teach.
Studies show that in K–12 schools throughout the U.S., students of color and students with disabilities face disciplinary suspension at disproportionate rates, primarily due to inequitable and punitive zero-tolerance policies and practices. Discipline data for the Phoenix Union High School District in Phoenix, Arizona, like most districts throughout the state, indicate disproportionality that mirrors national trends. The PUHSD governing board sought to address the issue by exploring and implementing concepts of restorative justice in their discipline policies.
Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination exists to “ignite the collective imagination for a better future.” Principal Investigator Ruth Wylie, assistant director of CSI and an associate research professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, notes that there is a deep connection between education and thinking critically and deeply about possible futures.
Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is the largest teacher preparation institution in its state and one of the most prolific in the nation. Nonetheless, between 2005 and 2017, the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred on aspiring teachers at ASU declined by 21 percent. There was a corresponding 23 percent decline in the number of teacher preparation students completing their bachelor’s degree programs between 2008 and 2016, a time when enrollment and degree confirmation for all other ASU majors increased.
What impact do the co-teaching and service-learning aspects of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College AmeriCorps program have on our AmeriCorps members and the communities they serve? Do service-learning and co-teaching enhance academic engagement among students in the underserved or high need schools and communities served by our AmeriCorps members?