PRIORITY: ENHANCING ENGAGEMENT Public Education Partnership
Proposal:
Integrate university and public education programs to form a comprehensive Public Education Partnership, with UMS taking the leadership role, to develop responses to all issues related to school quality and teacher preparation.
Public Benefits:
Maine students and communities would benefit from some of the most thorough teacher-preparation programs in the nation; integration of Maine’s teacher education programs with all of Maine’s local education agencies would provide a much-needed strategy and synergy that currently does not exist; would help ensure that Maine’s public schools and early-childhood education programs have an adequate number of properly credentialed educators to help students achieve the goals of the Maine Learning Results and to meet the federal expectations of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
Background:
Maine is on the edge of a crisis in its K-12 education system. It faces a crippling shortage of highly qualified teachers. Over the next few years this shortage will become worse as large numbers of Maine’s experienced teachers become eligible for retirement. In addition, Maine’s education system must prepare for new state and federal standards for teacher certification. A recent study of school staffing in Maine found that 24 percent of Maine’s secondary classes in core academic subjects were taught by teachers lacking at least a minor in the class’s subject area. Increasingly, teacher vacancies will be filled by individuals who lack the necessary expertise and professional training in the subject matter.
Annual Increase Requested:
FY04
$1.0 million
FY05
$2.5 million