Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy

PURPOSE AND NEED

In the early 1990's, the legislature increased the requirements for individuals applying for a teacher or administrator certificate in the State of Nebraska. These new academic requirements included:

1. Demonstration of basic competency skills in the written use of the English language,

2. Competency to read, comprehend, and interpret professional writing and other written materials, and

3. Competency to work with fundamental mathematical computations.

In addition to these academic requirements, the legislature instituted the requirement for all certificated teachers and administrators to complete a course in human relations. This mandate went into effect for all newly certificated teachers in 1990 and for all renewals after January 1, 1993. The requirement addressed the need for teachers to relate effectively to other individuals and to groups in a pluralistic society. The intent was to improve the respect for an individual's human dignity and rights, and effectively deal with dehumanizing biases including, but not limited to, sexism, racism, prejudice, and discrimination.

In light of recent school safety issues and an increase in accountability for student academic performance, we are again looking to expand the responsibilities of a well-educated staff to resolve conflicts, reduce potential for crisis, and maintain an environment conducive to an increase in academic performance. Darling-Hammond, et al, 1996, acknowledge this in their research which unequivocally demonstrates that the variable with the greatest single impact on student learning is the professional competence of the teacher.

In recognition of this, schools must continue to advance the professional competence of teachers through effective staff development. Many of our current staff development programs are conducted during the day, therefore, requiring the regular teacher to leave the responsibility of the classroom to a substitute teacher. Due to the recent shortage in the number of available substitute teachers, however, Nebraska has joined many other states in reducing their requirements for the acquisition of a local substitute teacher certificate. The requirements, outlined in Nebraska Department of Education Rule 21, mandate the applicant must have completed college credit or its equivalent in professional education, and a total of sixty semester hours of college credit in humanities, social and natural sciences, mathematics, and practical arts. In addition, they must submit a written request for the issuance of such certificate from the superintendent and the governing body of the school system in which the applicant intends to substitute teach. This certificate allows the individual to substitute teach in the local district for a period not to exceed forty (40) teaching days per year.

While this modification to the certification requirements has increased the pool of available substitutes, it has done little to ensure that quality instruction continues in the absence of the regular classroom teacher. In essence, we are taking one step forward and two steps back in our attempt to fix a long term problem with short term solutions.

In response to this dilemma, 14 school districts in northeast Nebraska have asked Wayne State College and Educational Service Unit #1 to assist them in a proposed long term solution. This solution, the establishment of the Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy (NENTA), addresses immediate need to increase the pool of substitute teachers, coordinate and standardize the availability of substitutes, and increase the quality and effectiveness of substitute teachers in the classroom.

During the 1998-99 school year, Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy (NENTA) school districts utilized substitute teacher services for 6,894 full days of instruction. This equates to 48,258 hours of instructional time that districts relied on the professional services of substitute teachers to provide the crucial connection between quality teaching and student learning. See "Substitute Availability Survey" summary in the appendix.

In addition, during the 1999-00 school year, 5 districts involved in NENTA are currently utilizing substitute teachers in place of regular education teachers to fill vacancies where there were no applicants. The shortage of regular education teachers has impacted the number of substitute teachers in our districts and is compounded by the questionable quality of instruction associated with the hiring of a substitute teacher to make curriculum decisions in an area of little professional expertise.

The local substitute teacher shortage impacting the NENTA districts is only a fraction of the problem facing schools across the state and country. Articles in the Sioux City Journal and the Lincoln Journal Star bear witness to the dilemma facing school districts in Nebraska and Iowa.

This proposal outlined by the NENTA would provide the opportunity to expand the number of certificated substitute teachers by an additional 40-65 teachers, or an additional 3,200 to 5,200 days per year.

In direct relation to the shortage of certificated substitute teachers is the problem of availability. Many area substitute teachers are shared by several districts who competitively strive for their services. Few districts pay mileage and thereby restrict even further their ability to attract substitute teachers to fill vacancies. In the event of ESU #1 staff development activities or area school activities, many teacher requests are denied or classes cancelled to accommodate the necessary leave requests.

During the 1998-99 school year, all 14 NENTA districts reported they were unable to fill all teacher requests for leave with certificated substitute teachers. There were 337 days where there were no substitutes available to cover teacher absences. In addition, ESU #1 canceled a number of staff development workshops or had to reschedule them over the summer months during the last two years because too many superintendents reported they could not get the substitutes needed to facilitate staff development activities during the school year.

The NENTA proposal would provide a system for the scheduling of substitute teachers for 14 districts through one central office (project secretary) and provide incentive for substitute teachers to travel and work in districts associated with NENTA.

Closely tied to the number and availability of substitute teachers is the question of quality or effectiveness. Due to shortage and availability, areas of expertise are, at times, of less importance than the availability of someone to "cover" the classroom. This intensifies the "catch 22" that comes into play for regular classroom teachers who struggle with whether the day of staff development will offset the loss for students in the event that quality instruction and student expectations are compromised.

Again, this problem is not just a local dilemma. Geoffry Smith, Manager of the International Office for Water Education, along with Dr. James Dorward, Associate Professor of Elementary Education at Utah State University and Dr. Barbara Boldenhersh, Assistant Professor at Harris Stowe State College in St. Louis, MO are the three principle investigators who have received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to improve the productivity of substitute teachers through the development of programs to improve effective substitute teacher training in public schools.

The NENTA proposal mirrors the objectives of this research project by focusing on organization and placement, training and evaluating of performance, and reviewing policies, procedures, and practices.

Link to Strategic School Improvement Plans (SSIP)

The 14 school districts involved in the NENTA Consortium, Wayne State College and Educational Service Unit #1 are committed to the development of a quality, sustainable, replicable program that squarely addresses the Excellence in Education Council's central goal of assuring increased student learning through a more articulate program. This program is designed to increase the number, improve equitable use and availability, and enhance the quality of substitute teachers in the NENTA program.

The schools involved in the Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy (NENTA) are committed to providing effective staff development, beyond the requirements of this proposal, as demonstrated by the focus of all 14 schools in their strategic school improvement plans (SSIP). See validation of connection to school improvement plans on "Certification of SSIP" forms included in the appendix.

PLAN OF OPERATION

The Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy (NENTA) is a consortium of 14 school districts in northeast Nebraska, Educational Service Unit #1 and Wayne State College.

The NENTA districts which include Allen, Coleridge, Emerson-Hubbard, Hartington, Laurel-Concord, Norfolk, Pender, Pierce, Ponca, Randolph, South Sioux, Wakefield, Wayne, and Winside are located within a 50 mile radius of Wayne State College and serve approximately 12,800 K-12 students at 45 different building sites.

Educational Service Unit #1 is located 10 miles east of Wayne State College and serves staff development needs of the majority of the NENTA districts.

Wayne State College is a publicly funded regional institution of higher education. Formerly a teachers' college, the institution remains dedicated to advancing the cause of public education in northeast Nebraska.

The plan of operation is developed below in two parts. Part A summarizes the scope of the program, outlines the goals and objectives, sets time-lines, and identifies the responsible parties. Part B provides the management plan which delineates qualifications and project duties.

Part A:

The Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy program is established to increase the number of substitute teachers, improve availability and equitable use of substitute teachers, and enhance the quality of instruction delivered by a substitute teacher.

This program identifies students in their junior year at Wayne State College who exceed the requirements for the local substitute teacher certificate (see "Student Profile" in the appendix). These students will be scheduled in college classes on alternating days to accommodate requests from the NENTA districts for substitute teachers. They will also be enrolled in the Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy class to provide a setting for support, review and discussion about actual on the job situations.

Prior to placement in the districts, NENTA students will complete training conducted by APL Associates. This training will focus on the art of effective teaching including: increasing management skills, improving student participation and time on task, promoting success for all in the classroom, improving classroom structure, teaching to objectives and enhancing relevancy, and strategies for improving homework completion rates. In addition, all district substitutes will have the opportunity to receive training in improving their effectiveness as a substitute teacher.


Each district will send one or more representatives from each building toparticipate in a substitute teacher workshop. These workshops will identify the lesson skeleton from which substitute teachers will apply skills learned in the APL training. The information provided in this workshop will be brought back to the districts and become the lesson template for substitute teachers.

Each NENTA student from Wayne State College will be required to video tape lessons. The students will bring their actual teaching episodes back to the classroom for peer review. Following the peer review, students will meet with their mentor teachers to establish targets and performance goals.

Each student will be required to have a minimum of one observation and evaluation, per semester, by a district administrator/building coordinator. Additional observations may be required by Wayne State College staff to ensure quality in the program. The evaluation instruments used in this program are designed to measure those skills taught in the APL training model with formative and summative evaluation monitored by the NENTA Evaluation Team.

The NENTA program, as outlined above, supports the goals of increasing the number of substitute teachers, improving equitable use and availability, and provides structure, support, training, accountability, and evaluation of the substitute teaching experiences.

Below are the identified benefits of the Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy Program:

Benefits for K-12 Students

1. Students will benefit from an increased time on task in the absence of the regular teacher.

2. Students will experience an improved classroom structure to encourage a higher level of student participation.

3. Students will benefit from a decline in classroom distractions and inappropriate student behavior in the absence of the regular teacher.

4. Students will feel a greater sense of security and safety because of familiar pedagogy in the absence of the regular teacher.

5. Students will benefit from improved consistency in expectations when the regular teacher is absent.

6. Students will experience a higher level of accountability on the part of the substitute teacher.

7. Students will witness an increased relevancy of lesson objectives.

8. Students will benefit from the use of sound, effective teaching strategies consistent with those demonstrated by the classroom teacher.

9. Students will benefit from the effective use of lesson plans prepared by classroom teacher to be carried out in his/her absence.

10.Students will benefit from additional staff development opportunities made possible through this program.

Benefits for NENTA School Districts

1. Schools will have access to a pool of substitute teachers. These 40-65 students will be eligilbe to work for approximately 3,200 to 5,200 days of substitute teaching per year.

2. Schools will have access to potential student teachers and teacher candidates for future employment.

3. School districts will have a more direct impact on the development of pre-service educators.

4. Schools will be able to provide release time for faculty to participate in staff development activities because of the increased availability of substitute teachers.

5. Schools will be contributing to the development of more competent beginning teachers, some of whom will be interested in securing employment in their school district.

6. Schools will benefit from the involvement of the entire staff as a learning community.

7. Schools will benefit from the assurance that the quality of instruction will continue in the absence of the regular classroom teacher.

8. Schools will benefit from the increase in student expectations during the teacher's absence due to the improved quality, structure, and consistency of the substitute teaching program.

9. Schools will benefit from the APL training for all district substitutes and district personnel involved in the training.

10.Schools will benefit from the strengthening of existing partnerships and the building of new relationships for education through the Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy.

Benefits for NENTA Students (Substitute teachers)

1. Students will enter student teaching with the possibility of 660 hours of field experience as compared to 100 hours required of non-participating students.

2. Students have the opportunity to earn up to $4,000 during their junior year within the field of education (substitute teaching apprenticeship).

3. Students participating in the NENTA will be recognized as participants in an Honors Program in Teacher Education.

4. Students will build a professional network of contacts in the field of education.

5. Students will have the opportunity to substitute teach with the advantage of a mentor teacher support system.

6. Students will have the opportunity to experience a variety of teaching opportunities prior to student teaching.

7. Students will experience a more total teaching experience than during field experience.

8. Students will participate in training seminars in APL Instructional and Management Strategies for use in substitute teaching.

9. Students will have the opportunity to assess participating school districts for student teaching and regular teaching opportunities.

10. Students will participate in regular seminars to foster a Reflective Teaching Model, to share experiences, and to gain insight from participating practitioners and college faculty.

11. Students will have hands-on teaching experiences, which encourage intellectual, reflective, managerial and instructional growth and facilitate quicker acquisition and advancement of teaching skills.

12. Students will build a professional reputation prior to student teaching and regular teaching experiences. This experience will be an outstanding addition to a professional resume.

13. Students will return to upper level methods course work with renewed interest in enhancing their instructional and managerial skills.

14. Students will have preferential scheduling options to allow for assignment of substitute teaching days in NENTA districts.

15. Students will benefit from the consistency and lesson framework used by all districts in the NENTA consortium.

In summary, the resulting benefits to the NENTA substitute teacher program for students is increased learning opportunities in a consistent, safe environment, improved opportunities for staff development to take place in an organized and timely manner, and enhanced opportunities for the best and brightest students at Wayne State College to enter the teaching profession with greatly enhanced benefits.

To further clarify the plan of operation, objectives, activities, timelines, identification of responsible parties, resources and budget needs, and evaluation strategies for objectives are included on the charts on the following pages.

Part B:
The initial work on this project was conducted by what came to be called the Teacher Academy Planning Team. This team was composed of Paul Theobald, Dean of Education at Wayne State College; Joe Kreizinger, Director of Field Experiences at Wayne State College; Tim Sharer, Chair of Secondary Education at Wayne State College; Carol Hilker and Betty Heier, Staff Development Team at Educational Service Unit #1 and Dan Hoesing, Superintendent of Laurel-Concord Public Schools. As indicated in Part A, the conceptual work has largely been finished. The information that follows outlines specific responsibilities of the assigned positions within the NENTA as well as the responsibilities of the key players involved in carrying out the program in its entirety.

Advisory Council:
The project will be carried out by the NENTA Advisory Council. Consortium member districts, ESU #1 and Wayne State College will be represented on the Advisory Council. This council will be responsible for setting the direction of the project activities, reviewing evaluation data and reports, and assuring that the project continues to meet the needs of the students served by the participating school districts.

Project Director:
The project will be directed by Dr. Paul Theobald, Dean of Education at Wayne State College. Dr. Theobald will work closely with the Advisory Council and project staff to ensure that the project is carried out according to the approved action plan.

Project Coordinators:
Dr. Joe Kreizinger, Director of Field Experiences and Dr. Tim Sharer, Chair of Secondary Education at Wayne State College will report to the project director and coordinate all project and evaluation activities according to the approved plan, orchestrate class scheduling, select WSC students for participation, identify building coordinators, collect data, coordinate NENTA class and Advisory Council meetings, prepare class and meeting materials, provide documentation and communication about project activities, and submit required reports to the Excellence in Education Council (EEC).

Project Facilitators:
Rhonda Topp and Amy Hill, Staff Development Team from ESU #1 will serve as project facilitators. The focus of their responsibilities include the organization of all staff development activities and assistance in the formative and summative evaluation activities.

Fiscal Agent and Accounting Specialist:
Wayne State College will serve as the Fiscal Agent for the NENTA and provide the fiscal management, maintain financial records and disperse project funds, complete financial reports to NENTA districts, handle correspondence and record keeping, and submit required reports to the Excellence in Education Council (EEC).

Building Coordinators:
NENTA building coordinators will be responsible for site coordination, lesson plan organization, on-site observations and evaluations, and on-goingcommunication with project coordinators (45 building sites in the NENTA).

Mentor Teachers:
Mentor teachers, selected from each building, will attend an APL substitute teacher training session. Following this training, mentor teachers will assist NENTA substitute teachers assigned to their buildings. In addition, the mentor teachers may provide assistance to Wayne State College faculty in the delivery of NENTA program seminars.

Project Secretary:
The secretary will assign NENTA students to consortium schools as substitute teachers, maintain certification records and restriction requirements, coordinate individual district requests for substitute teachers, maintain work assignments and mileage records, and maintain correspondence between consortium districts and NENTA Students at Wayne State College.

Project Consultants:
The project consultants will be Dr. Jean Anastasio and David J. Perry from APL Associates. The project consultants are experts in providing professional growth experiences to improve instructional and management skills in the classroom. The project consultants are responsible for providing expertise in classroom instruction, human resource management and in gathering and interpreting data used in program evaluation.

Project Evaluators:
Dr. Jean Anastasio and David J. Perry of APL Associates of Baldswinsville, NY will conduct the training and direct the evaluation processes for the NENTA.

APL Associates will provide professional growth experiences focusing on effective instructional and classroom management skills.

As a result of these instructional skills workshops, area districts have experienced increased student time on task, improved student behavior and academic performance, enhanced classroom and lesson organization, increased student motivation, and a more consistent implementation of classroom management techniques.

Under the direction of APL Associates, the NENTA Evaluation Team consisting of:
Dr. Joe Kreizinger, Director of Field Experiences at Wayne State College
Dr. Tim Sharer, Chair of Secondary Education at Wayne State College
Rhonda Topp and Amy Hill, Staff Development Team at ESU #1
will coordinate the formative and summative evaluation processes.

Responsibilities for NENTA District Teachers

1. Representative teachers/administrators will attend the mentor training session at Wayne State College.

2. Building coordinators will meet with students from Wayne State College (NENTA substitutes) when they arrive at the school to substitute. At this time, the substitute teacher will receive the lesson folder with the day's expectations.

3. Building coordinators will assist the NENTA substitute in locating their classroom for the day and acquaint them with the building.

4. Building coordinators will assist the NENTA substitute in locating any additional plans, equipment and materials needed.

5. Building coordinators will make sure to explain school procedures needed such as library and restroom use, use of hall passes, etc.. and acquaint the NENTA substitute with the school's daily schedule, and any other information relevant to that particular day's events.

6. Building coordinators will assist the NENTA substitute throughout the day or assign a designee to assist with questions that may arise during the day.

7. Building coordinators will provide an opportunity to debrief at the conclusion of the day and complete the required evaluation of the day's activities.

Responsibilities for NENTA Districts

1. NENTA districts will be assessed an annual membership fee to assist with administration and staff development activities throughout the year.

2. NENTA districts will be required to designate a coordinator for each building involved in this project.

3. NENTA districts will be responsible for having a process in place to ensure that substitute teacher information, outlined by the advisory board, is in place in the absence of the regular teacher.

4. NENTA districts will be responsible for having a process in place to ensure that absent teachers provide organized and easily used learning materials and equipment required in the lesson.

5. NENTA districts will be responsible for having a process in place to ensure that substitutes are provided with managerial support during their teaching day.

Responsibilities for NENTA Students (Substitutes)

1. NENTA substitutes will attend the mentor training sessions held at Wayne State College in August.

2. NENTA substitutes will attend the weekly NENTA class at Wayne State College.

3. NENTA substitutes will attend all APL training sessions provided in this program.

4. NENTA substitutes arrive on time and will meet the building coordinators upon arrival at the site to substitute. At this time, the building coordinator will provide materials and expectations for the day's activities.

5. NENTA substitutes are required to dress and groom professionally, to use correct grammar and vocabulary in both oral and written communication, treat students and school staff with courtesy, make decisions in a responsible and professional manner, and to follow all professional protocols of that school district and Wayne State College Teacher Education Program.

6. NENTA substitutes will bring the necessary equipment with them to provide a video tape of the teaching experiences to be used in the reflective teaching model.

7. NENTA substitutes will complete the evaluation form to debrief and provide immediate discussion, feedback on the day's activities and provide encouragement for future experiences.

8. NENTA substitutes are expected to accept assignments upon request unless an unavoidable conflict presents a valid reason for the rejection.

CURRENT EDUCATION INNOVATION FUND GRANTEES

I acknowledge that our district's participation in the Northeast Nebraska Teacher Academy Project, if funded by the Education Innovation Fund, will not conflict with, jeopardize, duplicate, nor harm the ability of our individual district or consortium of districts to fulfill the requirements of any ongoing programs or projects funded by an Education Innovation Fund Grant.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://academic.wsc.edu/education/sharer_t/nentaindex.html

NENTA OBJECTIVES

NENTA INTER-LOCAL AGREEMENT