McNeese granted residency extension

School gets extra time to implement state initiative

Believe & Prepare

<p class="p1">The upcoming start of the 2018-2019 school year marks the deadline set by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education requiring colleges and universities to implement a year-long residency component for its teacher preparation program candidates.

<p class="p3">The deadline is part of the state’s Believe and Prepare program which features a six-year goal, started in 2014, to give aspiring teachers the opportunity to gain a full year of practice under an expert mentor teacher before they graduate and are hired professionally. The goal also requires colleges to design and implement a competency-based curriculum preparing students for the evaluation realities of the workplace.   

<p class="p3">By 2020, the state plans to have 2,500 mentor teachers trained to guide residents along the path towards graduation and professional success. 

<p class="p3">McNeese State University is one of seven higher learning institutions in the state that have filed for a time extension to fully implement the residency component and curriculum changes. Only two of its 61 programs, bachelor’s of science in elementary education and post-baccalaureate certificate in elementary education, will feature the residency component in the upcoming term. 

<p class="p3">According to public records from the LDOE, McNeese cited “significant changes in leadership, accreditation process, extensive internal approval process and coordination across multiple colleges/departments” as rational for the extension request. 

<p class="p3">Angela Ogea, interim dean of the Burton College of Education, confirmed the rationale saying, “We didn’t want to look at it as just a redesign. We looked at it as an overhaul.”  

<p class="p3">With overhaul in mind, the College of Education, recognized that with 61 different education programs there were many other “moving parts” to be consulted in the process.  

<p class="p3">“It’s not just the College of Education.  When you get to secondary and K-12 art, music and PE, we have to partner with those colleges across campus to gather feedback because it’s their program.” 

<p class="p3">Ogea said the College has been approved for the extension and 2019 College of Education freshmen will be participating in the re-developed program featuring the year-long residency in a Calcasieu Parish classroom. 

<p class="p3">Since 2015, McNeese has partnered with the Calcasieu Parish School Board to provide training and professional development to mentor teachers in a pilot program format.  Terry Collins, CPSB coordinator of the office of teacher and leader support said, “It’s a wonderful partnership with McNeese.” 

<p class="p3">The students who have participated in the pilot programs “overwhelmingly like the residency,” Ogea said. “They like being able to see from beginning to end of the year — student achievement, basic logistics of running a classroom and data review.” 

<p class="p3">Louisiana is one of only two states, South Dakota, in the United States to implement a year-long residency, said Sydi Dunn, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Education. The state and federal government have provided millions of dollars in transitional and long-term funding for the program through budget allocations and grant appropriations within the Every Student Succeeds Act.

SportsPlus

Local News

Landry: Tax changes needed to fuel population growth, encourage families to stay

Crime

11/6: Calcasieu Parish Sheriff announces arrest list

Local News

Reinvestment in Mid-City neighborhood begins

Local News

Avenue of Flags returns a day ahead

McNeese Sports

Cowgirls want to keep building

McNeese Sports

Cowboys looking to rebound…literally

Local News

APPJ fighting Coushatta land trust acquisitions

Local News

Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

McNeese Sports

Leak heats up Cowboy defense

Local News

Louisiana breaks multiple election records

Local News

Trump wins White House in political comeback rooted in appeals to frustrated voters

Jim Beam

Jim Beam column: Gerstner Field remembered

Local News

Trump wins Georgia, moving closer to reclaiming White House

Local News

Beauregard, Vernon voters favor Trump

Local News

GOP reclaims Senate majority

Local News

Republican Higgins wins re-election bid for US House

Local News

Bowers elected newest member of Calcasieu Police Jury

Local News

Early election takeaways: Trump weakens Democrats’ coalition

Local News

Vidrine elected to serve as Oakdale’s next mayor

Local News

Trump wins North Carolina while votes are still being counted in other key states

Local News

Voters statewide approve constitutional amendment

Local News

Judge Davis elected newest member of Court of Appeal

Local News

Jeff Davis elects two new mayors, re-elects police chief

Local News

Cameron voters approve four bond issues