CAEP Partnering with States to Better Serve All Student Needs

WASHINGTON – The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is expanding its work with its State Alliance to develop research-based strategies and implementing exemplars to innovate clinical practice in targeted educator preparation programs.

“As CAEP implements its comprehensive and challenging standards, we are acutely aware of the needs facing families, children, communities, and the schools that serve them,” said CAEP President, James G. Cibulka. “Today’s public education system is in crisis – with ethnic disparities in student achievement, too few children meeting proficiency in reading and mathematics, inconsistent and low academic standards, and significant high school drop-out rates. Accreditation can be used as a lever to address this crisis, through request for evaluation of rigorous standards that insist that all educators be prepared to meet the needs of increasingly diverse P-12 learners.”

Advancing research and innovation is one of CAEP’s primary goals. CAEP is designing a networked improvement community to integrate the InTASC pedagogical framework with a clinical practice model through CAEP’s. CAEP will serve as the hub for innovation and support providers who educate teachers.

“We are honored to partner with communities and teacher preparation programs to prepare teachers to best serve the needs of ALL learners," said Jennifer Carinci, CAEP Director of Research, Innovation, and Data Strategy, a crucial new role at the accreditor. "Candidates need exposure to research-based practices and opportunities to work with students with various needs and their families. Without this type of preparation experience, completers of teacher preparation programs will not be fully prepared to fulfill their responsibility to the P-12 learners they will impact.”

This project is supported by a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) of Battle Creek, Mich., a philanthropic foundation working to provide all children an equal opportunity to thrive.

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The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (www.CAEPnet.org) advances excellence in educator preparation through evidence-based accreditation that assures quality and supports continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 student learning.