Improving Outcomes for Californias Minority Students: Can an Increased Role for Community Colleges i

1

• Improving Outcomes for Californias Minority
  StudentsCan an Increased Role for Community
  Colleges in Teacher Preparation
• be Part of the Answer?
• Presentation to the Harvard Civil Rights Project
• October 23, 2003
• Nancy Shulock
• Colleen Moore
• Debra Solomon

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Problem Teachers for Californias Urban Schools

• Californias Urban Schools Face
• Achievement gap
• Teacher shortages
• Lack of teacher diversity
• Call for increased teacher quality
• Research Question
• Can Community Colleges Play a Role?
• Research Methods
• Literature review
• Analysis of current developments and practices
• Pipeline framework for evaluating potential
  impact of community colleges

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Why Turn to Californias Community Colleges?

• They serve most students, especially minorities
• Designed as key part of California higher
  education
• Serve over 70 of Latinos and African Americans
• Role will increase (growth, demographics,
  redirection)
• They hold untapped potential to shore up pipeline
• 1. Recruitment of diverse teacher candidates
• 2. Support during lower-division years
• 3. Student success in transfer and completion of
  credential
• 4. Improve teacher placement and retention in
  high-need schools

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What Are the Challenges?

• Unclear role for lower division
• No undergraduate teaching degree
• Complexity of transfer process
• No common transfer curriculum
• Campus-by-campus, course-by-course articulation
• Low transfer rates
• Even lower among underrepresented minorities
• Poor academic preparation among students
• Budget constraints

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Analysis of Recent Developments

• Blended Programs Opportunity and Challenge
• An emerging role for lower division
• SB 81 requires articulation with community
  colleges
• Focus on early field experience (Carnegie
  Challenge)
• Lessons From Targeted Efforts/Programs
• Targeting paraprofessionals increases diversity
  and retention
• Up-front financial support enhances completion
  and retention
• Huge benefits from providing home for
  prospective teachers
• Isolated successes depend on individual
  initiative, e.g.,
• Departmental partnerships
• Basic skills learning communities

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Policy Recommendations

• Recruitment
• Include question on standard registration form
  ()
• Continue/expand special targeting programs ()
• Lower Division Support
• Expand homes for prospective teachers ()
• Enhanced/targeted counseling ()
• Successful transfer and program completion
• Articulation ()
• Early field experience while at community college
  ()
• Host upper division teacher prep on site ()
• 4. Recruitment and Retention
• Byproduct of good recruitment efforts diversity
• Partner with school districts e.g., hiring
  compacts ()