ctcwatch Mailing List: Things Are Lookin' Up (CTC Watch)

[Tsai-Tsai O-Lee (tolee]

   CTC WATCH____________________
              Your source for current events impacting the Commission on Teacher Credentialing......

Authored & Published by:
Bruce Kitchen, CCTC/School District Liaison
San Bernardino & San Diego Counties

DON'T YOU LOVE IT WHEN...

...a box full of jig saw pieces start fitting together?  Think about this one.  Last December The Center For The Future of Teaching and Learning released their report on "The Status of the Teaching Profession, 2007".  It served as a platform for proposing the establishment of a structured and flowing  system to improve the quality of teacher training and development.  We are well aware that no single "System Master" exists so it is especially exciting to see the many required puzzle pieces coming together.  A positive picture is starting to develop:

• Last fall the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) gathered Community College and University folks together at the University of Southern California to work on identifying and systematizing the transition process for students.
• During the past year the CTC has radically altered the IHE accreditation structure to make university programs more effective and current.
• The California State University announced the years of study and research by their Center For Teacher Quality is seeing real progress in identifying those skills and conditions needed to produce and retain quality teachers.
• The state of California has allocated the funding and written the contracts to bring the all important student and teacher tracking (CALPADs & CALTIDES) and monitoring structure into the digital age.

And now here comes a new puzzle piece.  One with a straight edge that tells us it will fit on the outer edge of the picture.  The CTC has made a web-based support and assessment program available that will recognize individual teacher strengths and professional development needs.  This is the Induction/BTSA link so many have been asking for in order to "finish off" the formal development process.  The Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) is a must read for HR and Instructional Services administrators.  The overview is just two pages and a click away and, beginning tomorrow (July1) it will be available online to all BTSA programs.       ; http://www.ctc.ca.gov/pdf/PR-2008-06-27-main.pdf

Things are lookin' up!

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