Dear Colleagues:

I was fortunate to attend Secretary Duncan’s historic speech at Teachers College, Columbia University on October 22. I'd like to share my thoughts with you.

The Secretary issued a call to teacher educators: the bar has been raised for what we expect of teachers, and educator preparation programs must also raise the bar to meet those expectations. He calls for "revolutionary change---not evolutionary tinkering" in reforming schools of education.

The Secretary both praises and criticizes schools of education, recognizing that some schools of education have already redesigned their programs and are very focused on P-12 student learning, while saying that "many" schools of education are doing "a mediocre job" of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st century classroom. However, he provides examples of accredited schools of education that have redesigned their programs to include robust clinical preparation and are helping to solve urgent P-12 needs. He exhorts all schools of education to rise to the challenge and change the status quo.

I am particularly proud that among the "seeds of reform" described by Secretary Duncan are efforts already being made by a number of you and by NCATE and AACTE. He specifically referred to NCATE's Redesign and Transformation and its focus on clinical experience and student learning as "firmly behind the new drive to link teacher preparation programs to better student outcomes." I will soon make an exciting announcement regarding the clinical component of preparation. The NCATE Redesign's Transformation Initiatives will support and propagate more leadership efforts by you, and the increased emphasis on continuous improvement, research-based practices, and innovation to raise the bar for the entire field happily anticipated the Secretary's call for action. I see NCATE, under its Redesign, as aligned with Secretary Duncan's priorities.

The message from Secretary Duncan is loud and clear: We are all key players in the effort to give this nation and its children a P-12 educational system for the 21st century. A number of you are already taking the leadership to make that happen. NCATE should continue to use its position as an accreditor as a lever to make such improvements the norm.

We appreciate the Secretary's recognition that our profession itself is already attempting to reform educator preparation to meet P-12 needs. We sincerely appreciate his mention of NCATE's efforts in this regard.

This will not be an easy task, but it is an important one. It will take the entire village--teacher educators, college administrators, practitioners, states, and districts--to work together to change policies and practices that no longer work and to put in place those that drive P-12 student achievement in P-12 schools which have been transformed into learning communities. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to make this a reality.

Cordially,

James G. Cibulka, President
NCATE