Press Releases

February 12, 2004
Twenty-One College Presidents Affirm Support for Reading First Teacher Preparation Initiative
Washington, D.C.-Twenty-one college presidents of minority-serving institutions gathered at the National Institutes of Health on February 2 to affirm their support for the Reading First Teacher Education Network (RFTEN), a U.S. Department of Education grant project designed to help teacher educators and future teachers at those institutions teach reading using scientifically proven instructional strategies. The group of presidents serves as an advisory committee for the project.

To achieve the goal of increased implementation of scientifically-based reading instruction, the Network will train over 100 faculty from 25 primarily minority-serving institutions over a three-year period. In addition to training faculty, the project will involve deans and presidents of the institutions to help ensure that the training is instantiated at the institutions and that change takes place in the way reading instruction is delivered, with the ultimate goal of improving P-12 student achievement in reading. The project will be evaluated to determine whether teacher candidates are using the research-derived strategies with the students they teach during student teaching/internship experiences. If project results warrant, the project scale could be increased dramatically through legislative/regulatory measures.

The project grantee, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, is working in collaboration with the University of Texas' Reading and Language Arts Higher Education Collaborative, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and the U. S. Department of Education. Twenty-five institutions are involved in the project.

Dr. Norman Francis, President of Xavier University, opened the meeting. Francis noted that the RFTEN project would "strengthen teacher preparation in reading at many institutions, and even more importantly, strengthen the skills of future teachers who will teach thousands of children."

Jo Ann Jenkins, Library of Congress Chief of Staff, said that the Library would work with the RFTEN project which she believes is "a model" to increase P-12 student achievement in reading.

Dr. Reid Lyon, Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD), was a keynote speaker at the conference. He serves as the NICHHD researcher for the project. Lyon provided an overview of scientifically-based reading research and a summary of 'what works' in reading instruction, especially with at-risk children. Lyon said that "the support of these institutional leaders is crucial to the success of this project. I am thrilled to be part of an effort that will improve the lives of children." Dr. Boyce Williams, RFTEN Project Director and Vice President of Institutional Relations at NCATE, moderated the conference. Williams said, "more than half (53 percent) of the African Americans teaching in public schools today earned their bachelor's degrees at historically black colleges and universities. It is critical that teachers coming from these institutions and other primarily minority-serving institutions have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach P-12 students to read and succeed at higher levels." NCATE is recognized as a specialized accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and currently accredits 562 colleges of education that produce two-thirds of the nation's new teacher graduates annually.


November 2003
USDOE Awards $4.5 Million Grant to NCATE to Strengthen Teacher Preparation in Reading at Minority-Serving Institutions
Reading First Teacher Preparation Network Will Provide Training to Reading Faculty
Washington, D.C.-The U.S. Department of Education has awarded NCATE a $4.5 million grant to support implementation of scientifically-based reading research and instruction at primarily minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges, with the goal of raising P-12 student achievement in reading. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced the project, the Reading First Teacher Preparation Network, during his keynote address on September 15 at the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) annual conference. Secretary Paige noted that "reading professors from 25 institutions will participate in the best training available on scientifically-based reading instruction....As the nation looks to quality teachers in reading, let them look to HBCUs." NCATE President Arthur E. Wise says, "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to provide quality professional development to further strengthen teacher preparation at minority-serving institutions."

Boyce Williams, vice president for institutional relations at NCATE, and project director, says "more than half (53 percent) of the African Americans teaching in public schools today earned their bachelor's degrees at historically black colleges and universities. It is critical that teachers coming from these institutions and other primarily minority-serving institutions have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach P-12 students to read and succeed at higher levels." To achieve the project goal of increased implementation of scientifically-based reading instruction, the Network will train approximately 40 faculty from about 25 primarily minority-serving institutions the first year, 60 the second year, and 30 the third year. After the first-year participants have been trained, institutions will conduct a needs assessment to determine gaps in reading instruction. They will work with consultants to modify their reading instruction to ensure that it is built on scientifically-based reading research. The University of Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts Higher Education Collaborative (UTCRLA/HEC), subcontractor to NCATE on the project, along with experts from the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD), will conduct the training. NCATE will contract with participating institutions to help build capacity, and will work with deans and presidents to ensure that benchmarks for progress are set and achieved.

NCATE will help the institutions plan and deliver professional development for reading faculty, ensure that the learning from the training is extended to other faculty responsible for preparation of pre-service teachers, help the institutions align the reading program with NCATE accreditation standards, and document teacher candidate licensure outcomes. NCATE will also work with testing companies and states on ways to assess what candidates know about reading research and instruction. NCATE and UTCRLA/HEC will evaluate the result of the project by evaluating changes in the institutions' reading instruction and preparation of candidates, and pre-and post-tests of P-12 students with whom candidates are working, as well as evaluating candidate licensing examination scores and other measures. NCATE is recognized as a specialized accrediting body for teacher preparation in the United States by the U. S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and accredits 550 colleges of education that produce two-thirds of the nation's new teacher graduates annually.