Good morning everyone and thank you for the opportunity to provide comments to the State Board of Education at your December 1 th Board Meeting. My name is Nancy DeJarnette, and I am the Director of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bridgeport. I also serve on the executive board of the AACTE-CT. This association consists of thirteen public and private colleges and universities that provide Educator Preparation Programs to students interested in the education profession. We promote and strongly support high quality teaching and education in the state’s schools and are advocates for robust educational leadership. On behalf of the AACTE-CT, thank you to the Board of Education, Commissioner Russell-Tucker, the Department of Education, and especially to those individuals who many of us from AACTE-CT work with on a regular basis.

Today, I want to thank CSDE and the State Board of Education for the adoption in early October to implement the educator preparation provider (EPP) program approval methodology using the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accreditation decisions based on CAEP site visits, with annual mentoring of EPPs using the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) EPP Data Dashboard. This indeed is viewed by EPPs around the state as a positive move forward. It is much appreciated that CSDE sought AACTE-CT involvement, our concerns were heard, and matters were resolved. 

We would also like to applaud CSDE’s work with the national organization of Educator’s Rising. This partnership provides an opportunity for school districts to “grow their own teachers”. Almost 60% of teachers come back and teach within 20 miles of where they graduated from high school. Fifty-one percent of Educators Rising members are students of color. This community-based initiative supports high school students to develop their interest in teaching at an early age and creates a pathway to grow and diversify the teaching profession right here within our own state. The University of Bridgeport’s Graduate School of Education, along with other EPPs, has fully embraced this initiative. We are partnering with Districts across the state to provide Early College Experiences (ECE) for students by offering education focused dual enrollment courses to high school students interested in becoming teachers. The Educators Rising curriculum provides high school students with hands-on opportunities to experience teaching and identify ways to begin to refine their practice.

The University of Bridgeport has developed a pathway for students from Dual enrollment high school credit, to undergraduate degrees in specific content areas with an Education Minor, to the Master’s degree in Education with teaching certification. UB is working with our urban districts such as Bridgeport and Hartford with efforts to help them grow their own teachers using this pathway.

As we move forward, AACTE-CT looks forward to continuing to develop and sustain our strong relationships with CSDE and the State Board of Education. It is clearly by working together that we will best be able to tackle the most pressing educational issues in the state of Connecticut, such as developing talented and committed teachers who can meet the needs of all students and create meaningful educational opportunities.
Please continue to feel free to reach out to our association on issues of mutual interest. Our faculty and staff are a resource.

Thank you again for the opportunity to address the Board.

Nancy K DeJarnette, Ed.D.
Director, School of Education
University of Bridgeport
College of Engineering, Business, and Education
Director of Elementary Education & Accreditation
Wahlstrom Hall G-155
126 Park Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06604
p: 203-576-4764
ndejarne@bridgeport.edu