AAQEP Accreditation 2022
Standard 4 Aspect A
The program is committed to and invests in strengthening and improving the education profession and the P-20 education system. Each program’s context (or multiple contexts) provides particular opportunities to engage the field’s shared challenges and to foster and support innovation. Engagement with critical issues is essential and must be contextualized. Sharing results of contextualized engagement and innovation supports the field’s collective effort to address education’s most pressing challenges through improvement and innovation.
Engagement with Local Partners/Stakeholders to Reduce Disparities:
One of the primary ways the Single Subject program works to reduce disparities in
education is by placing our candidates in high-needs districts for both their initial
and final field placements. The longest-running, most sustainable partnership has
been with Fresno Unified, a high-need district with over 85%% of its students identified
as economically disadvantaged and just over 20% classified as English Learners. We
believe that preparing our candidates to work with students in high-need schools during
their student teaching increases the odds that our candidates will choose to stay
and teach in these schools.
Up until this past year, the Single Subject Teacher Credential Program also worked with the Fresno Unified School District in a joint effort to transform the student teaching experience under the Fresno Teacher Residency Program (FTRP). The overarching goal of the FTRP program was to improve student achievement in science, technology, and math in grades 9-12 through a combination of program coursework and professional development support. However, due to the shortage of middle school science, technology, and math, FUSD decided to focus on grades 6-8 rather than on 9-12 as the Single Subject Preliminary Teaching Credential allows Single Subject Teacher Credential Candidates to teach in grades 7-8.
Another way the program is working to reduce disparities in education is through two National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Programs (Noyce) grants, one in Math for our Integrated Credential SS Math Program and the other for candidates interested in seeking Science/Math with Computer skills. One grant is housed in the Math Department and the other in the Curriculum & Instruction Department. The focus of both grants is to recruit and prepare STEM majors to become 7-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in high-need school districts.
Engagement with Internal Stakeholder to Reduce Disparities:
Disparities are also addressed with our internal stakeholders through our Single Subject
Advisory Council, our Single Subject Coaches Meeting, and our Single Subject Program
Faculty meetings as follows:
Single Subject Advisory Council
Individuals involved: Imelda Basurto, Chair; Council Members: Deborah Brown, Sam Taylor, Ricci Ulrich, Marty Zinn; Member-at-large: Janine Quisenberry
How Often Meet: Twice per semester
Purpose: The purpose of the Single Subject Advisory Council is to make recommendations on Single Subject issues.
Example of Specific Challenge: A challenge the council identified last academic year was delving into the interpretation of the program’s attendance policy.
Steps Taken to Address Challenge: The recommendation to convert days into hours was forwarded to the University Coaches and Academic Subject Matter Area Advisors/Coordinators for review and a vote.
Single Subject EHD 155A Coaches
Individuals Involved: Imelda Basurto, SS Program Coordinator;
EHD 155A Coaches: Tony Mowrer, Sam Taylor, Yvonne Zysling, Art Parham, Marty Zinn, Steve Rocca, Ricci Ulrich, Cindy Torrance, Sylvia Freeman, Roger Bergman, Tina Nakashian, Gene Shimizu, FAST Coordinator/EHD 154 Instructor: Ricci Ulrich; Office of Clinical Practice
How Often Meet: Twice per semester
Purpose: The purpose of the Single Subject EHD 155A is to review policies and procedures, and to make recommendations that impact initial student teaching.
Example of Specific Challenge: The most challenging topic for this group was moving in-person student teaching to virtual due to the pandemic. Another issue was the ramifications of student virtual simulation.
Steps Taken to Address Challenge: A collaborative list of ideas was put together, the coaches created an internal support group, and one of our coaches stepped forward to design a student teaching teaching experience that was inclusive of the artificial intelligence system known as simSchool.
Single Subject EHD 155B Coaches/Academic Subject Matter Area Advisors
Individuals Involved: SS Program Coordinator; Imelda Basurto; Academic Subject Matter Advisors/Coordinators: Dr. Steve Rocca, AG; Dr. Ah Ran Koo, Art; Dr. Alison Mandaville, English; Dr. Ragee Amarasinghe, Math; Dr. Maria Morrillo, Foreign Language; Dr. Dawn Lewis, PE; Dr. Neil Connor, Social Science; Dr. Jaime Arvizu, Science, Drs. Tony Mowrer and Emily Mason, Music; EHD 155B Coaches: Lynn Linman, Tina Nakashian, Stella Bohn, Lance Burger, Michelle Pacheco, Maria Hernandez, Cynthia Thorburn, Sandy Person, Jim Lloyd, Anne Kaufher, Kathy Torosian, Deb Brown; FAST Coordinator/EHD 154 Instructor: Ricci Ulrich; Office of Clinical Practice
How Often Meet: Twice per semester
Purpose: The purpose of the Single Subject EHD 155B Coaches/Advisor meetings is to make decisions regarding program policies and procedures.
Example of Specific Challenge: The most debated issue that occurred this year was finding a common ground for admitting students under special consideration.
Steps Taken to Address Challenge: The group voted to admit applicants who submitted a complete application.
Single Subject Program Faculty
Individuals Involved: Imelda Basurto, SS Program Coordinator, SS Faculty: Drs. Kat Biacindo, Maria Goff, William Garnett, David Low, Patricia Lopez, Rohit Mehta, Joe Parks, Tony Vang
How often meet: Monthly
Purpose: The purpose of the Single Subject Program Faculty is to make curriculum and coursework recommendations, and to provide program and curriculum support and input
Example of Specific Challenge: The most debated issue was the discussion of changing the course classification code of each of the Single Subject classes with the program.
Steps Taken to Address Challenge: The Single Subject Program faculty opted to maintain the current program course classification codes.
Plans for Future “External” Stakeholder Involvement:
It is apparent that the Single Subject teaching Credential needs to increase its involvement
with outside stakeholders. Moving forward, we will work to create a Single Subject
Conglomerate Committee that will ensure internal and external stakeholders come to
the table together. Our goal will be to invite one representative from each of the
7-12 school district partnerships as well as community college faculty in order to
increase the voices that are absent. The implementation of such a committee would
increase the integration of ideas to address local school district policies and curriculum.
This committee would also include Single Subject program completers as well as other
local educators not affiliated with Fresno State. Data that would be reviewed by
this group would be the CTC Completer Survey, FAST, and the EdQ dashboard. The committee
would meet semi-annually.
It also needs to be said that post-program Single Subject Completer support can not be provided without the input of our partnering school districts. Moving forward, we plan to hold regular Data Review Partnership meetings with local school districts to triangulate their student achievement data with our program’s FAST results in order to improve the way we prepare our candidates and to enhance the professional development activities provided by our school district partners.