“The Hough Post”
November 5, 2019
Volume 8, Number 10
CAEP Site Team Completes Site Visit
At 9:00 a.m. this morning, the CAEP site team chair and two DESE representatives met with the EPP Leadership Team to provide insight into the site team’s report. Then, at 11:30 a.m. the CAEP site team chair along with four other site team members met with Provost Einhellig, Barri Tinkler, Chris Craig, and me. The purpose of the 30-minute meeting was to provide a verbal “final report” of findings as perceived by the nine-member site team — four out-of-state and five in-state. According to CAEP guidelines, the MSU EPP Leadership Team is to receive a written report from the CAEP site team within seven days. The MSU EPP Leadership Team will review the report and write a rejoinder. The CAEP Accreditation Council will meet in April 2020 to render a final decision. I will announce that decision as soon as it is received.
I thank the four CAEP out-of-state site team members, Mel Horton, Kelli Cassady, Meghan Salyer, and Charlotte Wright for their work reviewing the MSU EPP Self Study and Formative Feedback. I also thank them for spending time interviewing staff, faculty, administrators, MSU students, P12 teachers, partners, stakeholders, and others who are involved in the preparation of education professionals. In addition, I thank the five in-state CAEP site team members, Buddy Alberson, Jaimie Foulk, D.J. Kaiser, Alicia Noddings, and Kimberly Nuetzmann for all their hard work. Thirty-one (31) PK-12 school partners traveled to PCOB on Sunday afternoon, November 3, 2019, to participate in interviews by the CAEP site team. Add to that more than 70 MSU faculty and staff who participated in interviews yesterday. That makes the number of individuals who participated in CAEP interviews over 100, not counting the EPP Leadership Team.
In addition, I thank the scores of MSU EPP faculty and staff who have worked so hard over the past six years since the PEU’s last “Focused Visit” by NCATE. Each “area for improvement” (AFI) documented by NCATE in 2013 has been fully and completely met. The team was impressed by the enormous amount of work and the far-reaching efforts of those who served on Standard Work Groups and contributed to writing the Self Study.
While every EPP that now chooses to seek accreditation by CAEP is subjected to different and continually changing standards, guidelines, and processes, and while I have been told by CAEP that all EPPs receive AFIs as a part of the “continuous improvement” accreditation process, I am at liberty to announce that the CAEP site team repeatedly and emphatically touted the MSU EPP for the many exemplary initiatives that have been undertaken, including but not limited to our Continuous Improvement Seminars and Continuous Improvement Quality Assurance Program Plans, recruitment efforts such as a Bear in Every Building, diversity and inclusion such as Bear Partnership, governance, outreach, the many partnerships with PK-12 schools, and our Research Briefs documenting the high quality of our programs and initiatives.
Personally, I thank and give credit to president Smart, provost Einhellig, deputy provost Chris Craig, and assistant provost Joye Norris for their support and superb handling of interviews focused on previous AFIs that were noted by NCATE. By my count over 90 MSU faculty and staff across the University contributed directly or indirectly to one or more of our Standard Work Groups that were formed in 2017. Thanks to all! From this work, an 18-member writing team was formed in April 2018. Four of these individuals emerged as leaders and agreed to meet together over a six month period of time to draft the Self Study narrative and provide evidence. Judy Gregg, Ximena Uribe-Zarain, Travis Marler, and Kim Dubree constituted that writing team and were later supervised by COE associate dean Barri Tinkler. Dr. Tinkler then wrote the Formative Feedback report after receiving a preliminary review by the CAEP site team on September 1, 2019. I thank Barri, Judy, Ximena, Travis and Kim for their stellar work. They spent many long hours together sustained only by Krispy Kreme doughnuts and coffee.
The question most everyone wants answered is, “What is the final decision?” The answer cannot be provided until the Accreditation Council renders its decision in April 2020. However, I can tell you what I heard from the CAEP site team chair. In sum, they are recommending to the Accreditation Council that no AFIs be given to the initial programs in Standards 1, 2, 3, and 4. However, they will recommend an AFI in Standard 5 tied to an advanced program. Moreover, they will recommend a stipulation for what they now consider our advanced programs in Advanced Standard 1.
Dr. Tinkler is working to submit revisions to a piece of evidence that appears to be important to the site team’s recommendation for a stipulation in the advanced programs in Standard 1. That evidence must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. today. The site team will review those revisions before submitting their recommendations within the next seven days. The goal would be to ask the site team to re-review their recommendation for a stipulation based on the revisions. Specifically, Barri is working on the advanced programs’ plans to demonstrate knowledge and use of CAEP Standards aligned to other professional standards in the program.
As soon as I have more specific information from CAEP, I will share same via this Post. Until then, please know how much I appreciate you all, each and every one. And I thank you for the extra work you have done to address CAEP Standards that pertain to your work, your programs, your departments, and the MSU EPP.
I will continue to keep you informed in a transparent manner by sharing information as it is received.
Sincerely,
David
MoETS Conference – October 21, 2019
The following information is being submitted to the West Plains Daily Quill for publication on the Higher Education page:
MoETS Conference – October 21, 2019
Over 80 ninth through 12th grade students and their advisers from eight area school districts attended the fifth annual Missouri Educators for Tomorrow’s Schools (MoETS) conference Oct. 21 on the Missouri State University-West Plains campus. The event was hosted by faculty and staff of the Teacher Education Completion Program and Missouri State University Outreach at Missouri State-West Plains.
MoETS is an effort to rebuild future teacher organizations at area school districts. Officials promote the future of the educational profession through communication and cooperation of members, promoting chapter growth, providing annual organizational meetings, and sharing educational activities and projects that connect higher education and the local community, organizers said.
“The theme of this year’s MoETS conference, ‘The Pathway to Rural Missouri Education,’ was chosen to focus on teaching in rural towns,” said Dr. Diana Piccolo, associate professor and elementary education outreach coordinator in the College of Education at Missouri State University in Springfield. “The conference allows them to come together for a day and gain additional information into a career as a future educator in public schools,” she added.
Students had the opportunity to attend five educational workshops at the conference. All provided students with insight into the different roles of the professional educator, Piccolo said. For more information about the Teacher Education Completion Program or MoETS, call 417-255-7930.
Below is a photo of Amber Galiher, a kindergarten teacher at West Plains Elementary School and a graduate of Missouri State University-West Plains and Missouri State University, discusses her experiences in the classroom with a group of students at the recent Missouri Educators for Tomorrow’s Schools (MoETS) conference at Missouri State-West Plains. Galiher was a finalist for the 2019 Missouri Teacher of the Year.
Bear POWER Featured at Workforce Development Summit
Bear POWER Director, Ms. Rachel Heinz, presented the Bear POWER program at the Missouri Department of Higher Education’s Workforce Development Summit on October 29 – 30, 2019, in Columbia, Missouri.
Pictured above are Rachel with directors of other IDD certificate programs: Michael Brunkhorst, UCM; Alexis Petri, UMKC; Jonathan Lidgus and April Regester, UMSL.
ATLL Workshops
You are welcome to attend any of the workshops below. For questions, contact Joi Hook at joihook@missouristate.edu
Upcoming Meetings/Events
All notes/minutes from Leadership Council, Faculty Advisory Council, Budget Committee, and College Council are on the COE website: https://education.missouristate.edu/
Link to Faculty Advisory Council Minutes October 9, 2019:
https://blogs.missouristate.edu/coe-deansblog/2019/10/30/faculty-advisory-council-october-9-2019
Link to Budget Committee Meeting November 1, 2019 Minutes:
Keep Calm and November On,