PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Oct. 19, 2022) – Prairie View A&M University’s Whitlowe R. Green College of Education graduates are some of the nation’s most distinguished teachers. Over time, they become school leaders and decision-makers. They are a part of PVAMU’s rich, historical legacy of preparing educators.
Now, thanks to the $12.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the PVAMU WRGCOE will work with Texas A&M University to help support P-12 teachers and school leaders across the nation. PVAMU and TAMU are members of The Texas A&M University System.
The five-year Teacher Quality Partnership grant will “help recruit, prepare, develop and retain a strong, effective and diverse teacher workforce for classrooms,” according to a DOE release. The news “builds on the recent White House meeting addressing school staffing shortages.”
“PVAMU will use this grant to design its new Leading Equity Across Diverse Environments with Revolutionary Synergy (LEADERS) initiative to enhance and strategically target high-needs districts,” said Magesh Rajan, vice president of Research & Innovation. “It will prepare highly qualified teachers and leaders capable of supporting the academic, as well as the social and emotional needs of children and youth in grades K-12.”
Michael McFrazier, dean of the PVAMU WRGCOE, shared, “the college has always been a noted leader in the state of Texas in producing teachers and leaders for high-need districts. Further, our collaboration with Texas A&M University contributes to Chancellor John Sharp’s vision for a multifaceted partnership between TAMU and PVAMU.”
Beverly Sande, assistant professor and principal investigator of LEADERS, said, “the partnership will allow LEADERS to directly serve 265 diverse teacher residents and leaders, 211,621 P-12 students, and five large school districts, of which 85% are Title I schools.”
Valerie Hill-Jackson, principal investigator of LEADERS at TAMU, said she is “excited about the new brand of future teachers and leaders who will be day-one ready to impact the achievement of underserved P-12 students. Collaboration is the tool for innovative solutions in educator preparation.”
The WRGCOE’s conceptual framework, Educators as Facilitators of Learning for Diverse Populations, supports the goals, innovation, and quality improvement of educator preparation. E-FOLD-P guides the design and implementation of programs, activities, and experiences and represents a commitment by the faculty to develop and prepare candidates.
TAMU’s College of Education and Human Development has a lauded history of producing the highest number of certified teachers in Texas. CEHD is also ranked 34th among the nation’s education graduate schools.
“[In summary,] the LEADERS project is an extension of the partners’ current work to develop, support and scale educator preparation programs focused on meeting the needs of underserved students,” Hill-Jackson said.
For the LEADERS project, yearlong residency experiences for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs will be implemented at PVAMU for their teacher candidates. At the same time, PVAMU and TAMU will work across institutions to deliver a residency experience for students in principalship programs. “Year one of our LEADERS project will involve ramp-up activities,” Sande said. “Years two through four, the cohorts will be rolled out, and year five is the culmination of our efforts to ensure sustainability alongside our school district partners.”
According to Sande, the ‘why’ of LEADERS is simple. The project is designed to:
- Increase the number of effective and diverse teacher residents and school leaders who are recruited, prepared, and retained in high-need schools and school districts and high-need grade spans and subjects.
- Enhance the quality of new teacher residency programs by engaging them in a culturally sustaining residency.
- Build capacity and ensure sustainability among the partners to fully implement, execute and sustain their residency programs after the grant period ends.
- Advance the field by conducting a rigorous evaluation and disseminating findings to improve knowledge and understanding of systems, structures, and processes necessary to authentically scale and sustain residency programs for teachers and school leaders in high-need areas.
The LEADERS Team is excited to embark on this project. The initiative will continue to grow and solidify the collaboration between the two institutions and their school district partners. We are elated about this opportunity to improve the quality of prospective culturally responsive principals and teachers in the State of Texas while providing professional development activities to support them through a two-year induction program.
In addition to Sande and Hill-Jackson, the LEADERS team includes Ronald Goodwin (PVAMU), Patricia Miller (PVAMU), and Gwendolyn Web (TAMU). To learn more about LEADERS, contact Beverly Sande at besande@pvamu.edu.
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