Tyrone N. Butts
APE Reporter
16
FVSU teacher program sanctioned
FORT VALLEY - Until further notice, Fort Valley State University's teacher education program cannot admit any new students.
The program, which has been on probation since last year, hasn't made "adequate progress" to correct its problems, said the Professional Standards Commission's executive secretary, F.D. Toth.
Toth's agency regulates the teaching profession, including FVSU's teacher education program. The suspension of student admissions begins this summer.
"They're not the only college where a program is placed on probation, but this is the only one right now where we've gone this far," Toth said. "We don't wa
nt this to go on and on and on, taking more students (into the program) who are not being properly taught."
This is one step fro
m shutting the program down permanently, Toth said.
He added, "I think they're listening to us now."
FVSU President Kofi Lomotey said Wednesday he's been hearing the PSC since the school was placed on probation.
"The university community has been working tirelessly to upgrade our teacher education program," Lomotey said. He said it was "surprising" and "disappointing" when the PSC suspended the admission of students, adding that he believes the school is making progress.
Last fall, FVSU implemented the Gates program, which monitors students and offers guidance from advisers and professors. The institution is also helping students improve their test-taking skills, Lomotey said.
Julius E. Scipio, dean of the College of Arts, Sci
ences and Education, said the school received a letter from the PSC in December stating the teacher education program, comprised of 61 undergraduates, was making adequate progress. FVSU officials said there's been "miscommunication" be
tween the PSC and the university.
Scipio said the college has been submitting its quarterly progress reports, but not providing additional documentation because it was unclear that the PSC needed additional information.
"We moved quickly as soon as we realized there were some issues with documentation," Scipio said. "We will do everything that is expected of us to meet the requirements of PSC."
Toth said, "We're going to continue the suspension until we're satisfied that they've made all the corrective action."
FVSU isn't meeting two requirements, which led to the initial probation last year. According to the PSC, the institution hasn't proved that its candidates have all the necessary
knowledge and skills to teach, and the school isn't effectively assessing the progress of its students.
In 2003-04, the passing rate for the Praxis I test, which measures reading, writing and mathematics, for FVSU students was 23 percent. For the Praxis II, which tests students' knowledge o
f the subjects they will teach, the passing rate was 61 percent.
On average, all Georgia university system schools averaged a 60 percent pass rate on the Praxis I and an 84 percent pass rate on the Praxis II, according to the 2002-03 Annual Report on the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
But those scores aren't an accurate reflection of what's going on at the institution, said Andrew Lee, FVSU's interim department head of curriculum and education and interim assistant dean for the College of Arts, Sciences and Education.
Lee said anyone can take the test, including people who aren't education students and those who haven't taken class
es since the 1980s. But everyone's scores are reflected in the passing rates. Lee hopes to correct this problem by providing additional data to the PSC.
Wednesday, FVSU administrators met with a PSC representative. Lee said the meeting went well. A lot of information was presented proving that the school was moving forward, Lee said.
"We believe that the decision (to suspend admission) was a little bit premature," Lee said.
L'Bonne Bailey, an early childhood education major at FVSU, said Wednesday she hadn't heard that students couldn't apply to the teacher education program beginning this summer. A freshman, Bailey said she's considering enrolling in the program, which will hopefully be admitting students by the time she's a junior.
"Right now the school is not up to par with the education program, and it should be. They need to do something about it," Bailey said, but she is confident that the administration will resolve the issu
es.
Toth said he wants to work with FVSU to rectify the situation.
"We need good teachers in Georgia," Toth said. "We certainly need minority teachers. We want to work with Fort Valley."
He added, "I don't want to suspend that program forever and forever. We want them to have a high quality program turning out graduates that can really function in our schools."
********
*****
Wake up America and smell the nigger!
T.N.B.
FVSU teacher program sanctioned
FORT VALLEY - Until further notice, Fort Valley State University's teacher education program cannot admit any new students.
The program, which has been on probation since last year, hasn't made "adequate progress" to correct its problems, said the Professional Standards Commission's executive secretary, F.D. Toth.
Toth's agency regulates the teaching profession, including FVSU's teacher education program. The suspension of student admissions begins this summer.
"They're not the only college where a program is placed on probation, but this is the only one right now where we've gone this far," Toth said. "We don't wa
nt this to go on and on and on, taking more students (into the program) who are not being properly taught."
This is one step fro
m shutting the program down permanently, Toth said.
He added, "I think they're listening to us now."
FVSU President Kofi Lomotey said Wednesday he's been hearing the PSC since the school was placed on probation.
"The university community has been working tirelessly to upgrade our teacher education program," Lomotey said. He said it was "surprising" and "disappointing" when the PSC suspended the admission of students, adding that he believes the school is making progress.
Last fall, FVSU implemented the Gates program, which monitors students and offers guidance from advisers and professors. The institution is also helping students improve their test-taking skills, Lomotey said.
Julius E. Scipio, dean of the College of Arts, Sci
ences and Education, said the school received a letter from the PSC in December stating the teacher education program, comprised of 61 undergraduates, was making adequate progress. FVSU officials said there's been "miscommunication" be
tween the PSC and the university.
Scipio said the college has been submitting its quarterly progress reports, but not providing additional documentation because it was unclear that the PSC needed additional information.
"We moved quickly as soon as we realized there were some issues with documentation," Scipio said. "We will do everything that is expected of us to meet the requirements of PSC."
Toth said, "We're going to continue the suspension until we're satisfied that they've made all the corrective action."
FVSU isn't meeting two requirements, which led to the initial probation last year. According to the PSC, the institution hasn't proved that its candidates have all the necessary
knowledge and skills to teach, and the school isn't effectively assessing the progress of its students.
In 2003-04, the passing rate for the Praxis I test, which measures reading, writing and mathematics, for FVSU students was 23 percent. For the Praxis II, which tests students' knowledge o
f the subjects they will teach, the passing rate was 61 percent.
On average, all Georgia university system schools averaged a 60 percent pass rate on the Praxis I and an 84 percent pass rate on the Praxis II, according to the 2002-03 Annual Report on the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
But those scores aren't an accurate reflection of what's going on at the institution, said Andrew Lee, FVSU's interim department head of curriculum and education and interim assistant dean for the College of Arts, Sciences and Education.
Lee said anyone can take the test, including people who aren't education students and those who haven't taken class
es since the 1980s. But everyone's scores are reflected in the passing rates. Lee hopes to correct this problem by providing additional data to the PSC.
Wednesday, FVSU administrators met with a PSC representative. Lee said the meeting went well. A lot of information was presented proving that the school was moving forward, Lee said.
"We believe that the decision (to suspend admission) was a little bit premature," Lee said.
L'Bonne Bailey, an early childhood education major at FVSU, said Wednesday she hadn't heard that students couldn't apply to the teacher education program beginning this summer. A freshman, Bailey said she's considering enrolling in the program, which will hopefully be admitting students by the time she's a junior.
"Right now the school is not up to par with the education program, and it should be. They need to do something about it," Bailey said, but she is confident that the administration will resolve the issu
es.
Toth said he wants to work with FVSU to rectify the situation.
"We need good teachers in Georgia," Toth said. "We certainly need minority teachers. We want to work with Fort Valley."
He added, "I don't want to suspend that program forever and forever. We want them to have a high quality program turning out graduates that can really function in our schools."
********
*****
Wake up America and smell the nigger!
T.N.B.