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Vol.7, No 25, October 12, 1999 
[news]

CSU deals with teacher shortages

By Johnna Walker
Daily Forty-Niner

Changing commitment, recruitment and curriculum is how the California State University system will solve the problem of teacher shortages in the next millennium, according to the CSU Teacher Education Annual Report 1998-1999, prepared by Chancellor's Office.

"California alone will need as many as 300,000 additional teachers over the next 10 years," said Ken Swisher, media relations manager for the California State University Chancellorís Office.

The report, released Sept. 29, detailed current improvements and changes made by the CSU system in the area of education. 

The CSU system made some headway by increasing teacher credentials by 25 percent, expanding alternative teacher preparation programs and standardizing teacher assessments, according to the report.

Changes were made to teacher preparation programs because much of the responsibility to educate these teachers falls on the CSU, Swisher said. The CSU response to the demand for more teachers is the Teacher-In-Residence program, he said.

Cal State Long Beach is one of five CSU campuses participating in the Teacher-In-Residence program.

Erin Gruwell and Huong Tran Nguyen are two Long Beach Unified School District teachers who work in the College of Education as part of the program, said Catherine Ducharme, chairwoman of the department of teacher education at CSULB.

Gruwell teaches classes in education and liberal arts, Ducharme said. Nguyen supervises college graduates who currently teach on an emergency permit, but are working toward a teaching credential. 

"It is a benefit to have distinguished teachers, who are able to inform us about curriculum changes [in the public school system]," Ducharme said. 

CalState TEACH, a multisubject credential program with an emphasis in multicultural environments, was implemented at CSULB this semester, said Dr. Jean Casey, professor of teacher education.

Like the Teacher-In-Residence program, participating students are college graduates who teach in elementary schools on an emergency permit but are working on becoming a credentialed teacher. 

A faculty member and an on-site school faculty mentor provide support for each of these teachers, Casey said.

The CalState TEACH program is part of the chancellor's strategy for "enhancing teacher knowledge of both subject matter and methods for effectively teaching content," according to the report.

Changes outlined in the education report also included offering classes online. Educational Psychology 350, a class in teaching students with physical or learning disabilities and those who are gifted or talented, is now offered online.

The course helps with the overflow of students who would not have been able to enroll otherwise, said Gary Greene, a CSULB associate professor who teaches the course.

 
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