Dear Alumni and Friends of The Citadel's School of Education:
On Friday Evening, November 9th faculty and friends of the School of Education celebrated a very successful accreditation review at the Wild Dunes Beach House on the Isle of Palms. In addition to toasting the recent state and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) visit, we honored Dr. Marilyn Feldmann for here dedication and skill in preparing us for this very important accreditation review. During the visit (September 30-October 2, 2007) the state and NCATE teams reviewed our assessment system, interviewed faculty, students, and community partners, and concluded that all standards are now met and recommended full NCATE accreditation. The final decision will be made by NCATE's Unit Accreditation Board in April 2008.
Achieving full state and NCATE accreditation is a significant achievement, but the School of Education is not content with this accomplishments. As noted in previous newsletters, we are committed to transforming a good School of Education into a great one. As illustrated in this third edition of this newsletter, the transformation continues and is gaining momentum. Now that full accreditation is secure, our energy and focus turns to:
- Expanding the School of Education footprint on the South Carolina Corp of Cadets;
- Establishing at The Citadel-in collaboration with Schools of Engineering and Science and Mathematics-a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Center;
- Establishing a national model for the preparation of school leaders for twenty-first century schools;
- Working collaboratively with area school districts to enhance literacy instruction in region's elementary, middle, and high schools;
- Extending the impact of our counseling programs by upgrading and expanding our curriculum; and
- Developing a new middle grade Masters of Art in Teaching-with the College of Charleston-and "fast tracking" extant MATs to better the needs of working adults.
These and related initiatives are discussed more fully in the third edition of the School of Education newsletter now available at http://school-of-education.thecitadel.info/2007-fall. Also include in the newsletter are examples of student and faculty accomplishments. To receive future editions of the newsletter electronically, please share email with The Citadel's alumni office at http://www.citadel.edu/alumni/update. I look forward to meeting with you soon and--with your help-to transforming a good School of education into a great one. Please contact me at (843) 953-5097 or by email tony.johnson@citiadel.edu with your suggestions and concerns.
Sincerely,
Tony W. Johnson
Professor and Dean
