Colorado State University And Rocky Mountain High School Recognized For Outstanding Teacher Preparation Program
Friday, February 27, 1998
FORT COLLINS--Colorado State University thinks the best way
to prepare future teachers is to send them back to high school.
This idea won recognition when a partnership between
Colorado State and Rocky Mountain High School was named one of
the top teacher preparation programs in the country at the annual
meeting of the National Association of Secondary School
Principals. The two schools were recognized earlier this month
for the collaborative teacher preparation program, called the
Professional Development School.
Through the program, students in Colorado State's School of
Education go to area high schools to attend their college classes
and to work alongside high school teachers. Relocating college
classes to area high schools allows future teachers to apply
skills as they learn.
"The program is a critical bridge between theory and
practice," said Corinne Mantle-Bromley, associate professor in
the School of Education. "The students who complete it are much
better prepared for the required semester of student teaching and
for teaching careers. When research showed that the Professional
Development School program was a better way to prepare teachers,
the School of Education adopted it for their entire undergraduate
program. Now every student going through undergraduate teacher
licensure at Colorado State participates in at least one
Professional Development School semester."
In addition to the site at Rocky Mountain High School,
Colorado State is currently working with Fort Collins High
School, Poudre High School and Centennial School in Fort Collins,
and Thompson Valley High School in Loveland.
"Not only do college students learn from the program, but
high school teachers and university faculty members benefit
also," said Karen Dixon, Principal of Rocky Mountain High School.
"The program allows teachers at Rocky to exchange ideas and
methods with the Colorado State faculty, and the Colorado State
faculty has a great opportunity to make certain course material
as relevant as possible to today's public schools. Ultimately,
the program helps provide a better quality education for public
school children."
The Professional Development School concept is growing in
popularity, with more than 100 sites across the country using the
program instead of traditional campus-based student licensure
programs.
L. Sharon Blocker, assistant professor in the School of
Education at Colorado State until her death in October 1997, was
instrumental in developing and implementing the Professional
Development School program at Colorado State. Blocker was the
first Colorado State faculty member to move a teacher licensure
class onto a high school site.
"It is a tribute to Sharon and to the design of the program
that the model has been adopted by Colorado State and has
received national recognition," said Nancy Hartley, dean of the
College of Applied Human Sciences.
A scholarship fund for students pursuing a teaching career
has been established in Blocker's memory. Contributions can be
sent to the Colorado State University Foundation in care of the
L. Sharon Blocker Scholarship Fund. For more information, call
Mantle-Bromley at (970) 491-1498.
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