College of Education
Leadership Council
April 23, 2020
9:00 – 10:30 am
Agenda
Zoom
In attendance: David Hough, Russ Brock, Jef Cornelius-White, Denise Cunningham, Kim Dubree, Janice Duncan, Karen Engler, Deanna Hallgren, Stephanie Huffman, Travis Marler, Juli Panza, Barri Tinkler, Ximena Uribe-Zarain, Rose Lee, Sharon Lopinot
Dean Hough welcomed everyone to the meeting. All are still doing well and gave a short update on what they are doing. The Dean still has numerous Zoom meetings every day. One of the main topics is communication regarding re-entry to campus. The Dean reminded all to wait until official information is released by the University before sharing any new policies and procedures. He reminded the group that everyone needs to be careful in the words you use and how you communicate to others. He stated that we are not going to let the coronavirus pandemic destroy what we are doing. It is all about returning in a safe, orderly, calculated, thoughtful manner. There will be a Town Hall meeting on May 20. President Smart will be discussing the FY21 budget. By the middle of May, we should have a good indication of state funding. Dean Hough has been monitoring fall 2021 enrollments daily, and stated he is pleasantly surprised to see some numbers in some classes to be on target or even ahead of fall 2020 at this time last year.
The Dean reminded supervisors to talk to their employees before any actions regarding employment are taken. He then asked everyone to report on their plans for 2020 Fall course delivery.
- CEFS has several more faculty that want to move their classes online. Denise said that is fine as long as the course can be taught that way. She is looking at risk management on some of the courses. Some courses may be blended.
- CLSE has 200+ courses. There are 50 on SharePoint. A majority of their classes have always been online.
- RFT has discussed options. Stephanie has received most of the risk management forms from her faculty. A good number of her faculty have asked to move classes online if appropriate. Some faculty also have some concerns about being back on campus. Some classes may be taught with half the students on alternating days.
- Greenwood has revamped elementary K-5. They are working with specials such as art, music, and PE. They also have to work on recess and lunch. They may have to change room locations and will need to use their larger rooms as much as possible. High school classes will mainly move to larger open rooms. They are trying not to change the high school schedule.
- Deanna is working on a plan for the Child Development Center.
- ATLL will work with four options. Small workshops, large workshops, onsite workshops at school districts, and meetings/conferences. They are determining the risk factor for each. Onsite work will be determined by school districts. Most of what they do could be done virtually.
Dean Hough reminded everyone that it is not just about compliance regarding distancing, but also the health and safety of students and faculty. If faculty feel they are at risk they may want another modality until things look better.
Dean Hough would like to form a Task Force to come up with a contingency plan regarding internships, practicums, and student teaching. A discussion followed:
- Kim said it depends on what school districts decide to do. She will work with students that do not feel comfortable with their situation individually.
- Karen is looking at this semester to see what has worked online for students. They may need to do frontloading of some practicums and offer some off-site practicums.
- Denise said virtual teaching depends on the grade level. K-2 is not as easy as grades 3-6.
The Dean will bring this up at EPP today and invite the head of the EPPU to join him in giving this task force its charge. The names mentioned for a task force, if formed, were: Kim Dubree, Karen Engler, and Abby Lowe.
There are virtual graduation ceremonies planned for the area. Our programs can also do this. The Dean asked if there were any potential virtual graduation ceremonies being planned. Denise mentioned two programs were considering some type of ceremony. Jef said counseling is planning one. Send any information to the Dean.
Barri has been working on a document regarding the COE student responses to the survey sent to all students on April 24. She has some points outlined and will ask department heads to look at it then finalize and send to the Dean. The summary will be in The Hough Post which will be sent out on Monday. Dean Meinert has been chosen to report to the Board of Governors in May regarding student responses. He will specifically talk about why students are not using Blackboard, why students requested a phone call and why students were not having a good experience with online classes.
Reactions to “Our Finest Hour” have been positive. If you think of anything that should be included email the Dean. Also, if you have any articles for the post, send them to him and copy Sharon by tomorrow.
Around the Table
Denise Cunningham
The student mental health certificate has been approved and will be offered for Fall semester. Their MSED in Elementary Education as admitted 32 new students so far.
Kim Dubree:
Kim reported they are monitoring student teachers for spring semester to make sure they have submitted their application to DESE for certification prior to May 15th to take advantage of the Governor’s waiver(s). Jef asked her if this included students in counseling. Kim said she needed the names. Jef will forward them to her.
Travis Marler:
Travis and Ximena have done an analysis of the Student Teaching Exit Survey and Disposition Traits Self-Assessment, comparing Internship Academy students with traditional student teachers. They found no significant differences between the two.
Barri Tinkler
Barri, Dean Hough, and Chris Craig will be in a Zoom meeting with CAEP on Saturday regarding their final report, which we should receive within a month.
Stephanie Huffman:
Stephanie reported they had a second graduate certificate, Online Teaching and Learning, approved. They also had the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching approved earlier. Both will be offered in the Fall. The changes to the MAT program have been approved by EPP. The program will be entirely online starting in the Spring semester. Their numbers are growing. Stephanie sent flyers on their two new graduate certificates to Barri.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 a.m.
Submitted by Sharon Lopinot, Executive Asst. II