STATE BOARD LAUDS SOUTHEAST PROGRAMS

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The Missouri Board of Education will cite four programs at Southeast Missouri State University as exemplary this fall.

University officials showcased the teacher education program Thursday as members of the state board of education met in Cape Girardeau. The meeting continues today at the Holiday Inn.

This marks the board's first visit to Cape Girardeau and its first tour of a state university. The board usually meets monthly in Jefferson City.

Board members expressed gratitude for the hospitality they had received. Students from Scott City displayed artwork in the board's meeting room. Fruit baskets and homemade cookies were in board members' motel rooms when they arrived and students at Nell Holcomb school signed a huge banner welcoming the board's president Thomas Davis.

The university programs showcased will be honored next fall when the state board reviews Southeast's education program, said Dr. Janet Nazeri, director for teacher education in the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

She explained that one of the state board's responsibilities is to approve college and university programs training teachers. During that process, a visiting team reviews all aspects of the institution.

Colleges and universities may submit programs to be considered for exemplary status. The team may also single out a program as exemplary.

In Southeast's case, both happened. Three programs submitted for consideration will be cited, and a fourth program was selected by the visiting team for commendation.

The visiting team agreed that the following programs are exemplary in the way they help train teachers:

University Studies program.

A process approach for preparation of elementary science teachers.

The teacher as a competent professional educator: An integrative model for preparation of teachers in Missouri.

The team also discovered Southeast's English as a Second Language program to be exemplary.

Nazeri said, "Southeast has worked a good six years on curriculum design. The team found that their work paid off.

"And a team of 15 people found that out."

The visiting team reaches a consensus about all its recommendations. All members must agree, she said.

The Rev. Raymond McCallister Jr., vice president of the state board, said: "The programs we discussed were not only refreshing, but also educational. I learned a lot and was very impressed by Southeast Missouri State University's total comprehension of what they're doing. Cape Girardeau can be very proud of this school."

McCallister said he was excited to be out of Jefferson City. "We get a chance to see this education where it's going on."

State board member Gary Cunningham, said: "The thing that stood out to me was the integration of the school of education with other schools, like the school of science."

He said integration of subjects, which shows how different areas are related, is also an objective the board has for high schools and elementary schools in the state.

"In order to do that, we have to have teachers who understand."

Board member Roseann Bentley said: "Southeast Missouri State University is fortunate to have one of the most innovative teacher education programs. I was particularly pleased to see the integration with the public schools, working with Dr. Arthur Turner (of the Cape Public Schools) for the Reading Recovery, for example, and teaching the methods one day and then practicing it the next day.

"I think they have hit on all the key aspects of a very good teacher education program."

Bentley said she was also interested in the new University Studies program on campus.

"I think that is just fabulous," she said. "They are working to make sure every college student has a real liberal arts education."

During a tour of the university Thursday, Southeast officials outlined the revamped teacher preparation program.

The new University Studies program was also highlighted as part of the university's effort to better prepare teachers.

The University Studies program, which used to be general studies, now emphasizes how different parts of society and education fit together.

"We have had an exciting few years," Lenore Bierbaum, dean of the college of education, told board members. "We have really tried to move forward in teacher education. We do not have a course in our program that is what it was four years ago.

"One of the most common criticisms of education programs was that students sit in classrooms and what they learn doesn't mean anything," Bierbaum said.

"When we redesigned our program, we decided to make it field based. Students are doing in the public schools what they were learning the day before."

Bierbaum said the entire redesign process was done with the assistance of public school personnel. The redesign committee was co-chaired by Dr. Arthur Turner, then superintendent of the Cape Girardeau Public Schools.

The link with public schools continues, said Bierbaum. For example, Reading Recovery, an intensive program to catch and correct reading problems of first graders, is a collaborative effort between the university and public schools.

KSAM (Kindergarten Through Sixth Grade Science and Math) also links the university with public school teachers by providing training to elementary-level teachers on better ways to teach math and science.

An offshoot of the KSAM program changed the way teacher candidates learn about teaching science and math, Bierbaum said. The program, which is similar to KSAM, is offered to Southeast's undergraduate students in the education field.