Urban Specialist Certificate Program Develops Teacher Leaders
"I am now able to step out of the box and do unconventional things that will really benefit my students." These words represent the thinking of Loretta Perkins, an English teacher at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knox County who is completing the Urban Specialist Certificate Program through the UT College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS). The certification is made possible by URBAN IMPACT, a project funded through a Title II Teacher Quality Enhancement Grant.
Thus far, a total of three cohorts of candidates have completed the 12-hour credit program that challenges them to implement research-based strategies into their classrooms and to research their impact on student learning. The current cohort consists of 10 teachers from various Knox County schools who are scheduled to complete their program in May of 2006.
One of these teachers, Kristina Shelton, a social studies teacher at Northwest Middle School, says her participation has made a difference in her professional practice. "The program has taught me a whole new way of viewing my students and the ways they learn. I have grown by looking at situations through their eyes. A real eye-opener!"
Among the guests and participants enjoying the reception that followed the 2005 ceremony were, left to right, Vicke Pyles, a Cohort One graduate; faculty member Gina Barclay-McLaughlin; Donna Hardy, a Cohort 2 graduate and new middle school assistant principal; and Susan Benner, head of the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education.
Cheryl Kershaw, URBAN IMPACT director, Charles Lindsey, KCS superintendent, and Dewey Roberts, NAACP president, talk about the future of the program following the May 2005 graduation ceremonies for the third cohort.
Janet Sexton, a literacy leader at West View Elementary, says, “The program has broadened my understanding of life in an urban community. I have become more aware of the strengths and needs of students in our urban schools and, as a result, I am better prepared to improve their academic achievement. Beyond understanding, the program has made all of us aware of the importance of respecting diversity and the need to appreciate and celebrate differences.”
The Urban Specialist Certificate Program was designed collaboratively by the CEHHS faculty, Knox County Schools Central Office personnel, and community leaders. All participants are talented urban teachers who were selected based on their professional accomplishments and commitment to teaching in an urban school setting. They must be willing to spend a week each summer, two weekends each school semester, and one evening a month in classes designed to equip them with effective strategies to use in mentoring beginning teachers in their schools. Most importantly, they are increasing their sense of self-efficacy as they realize that they can enhance their students' achievement and motivation to learn by incorporating research-based innovative practices into their day-to-day practice.
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Develops Teacher Leaders
Contact CEHHS
335 Claxton Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718