Education in Arizona just got a helping hand after ASU’s teachers college received a federal grant to rejuvenate the system.
The Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College now has an additional $43.4 million to devote to reforming the K-12 education system in Arizona with the Teacher Incentive Fund grant from the U.S. Education Department, said Scott Ridley, associate dean of the teachers college.
The school received the money at the end of the summer, and now the education college is planning and implementing the use of the grant money.
The college received the grant because it has a detailed plan that illustrates their intentions of reforming and improving Arizona’s K-12 school districts, Ridley said, adding that a good plan was necessary before the government would award the college the grant.
“Arizona is a place in need of progress and in need of change,” said Andrea Stouder, executive director of Sanford Education Project at the college. “I think it has made sense for the federal government to invest in our state.”
The Sanford Education Project is another grant program that is designed to prepare the best teachers, which is similar to the TIF grant, she said.
With the help of the grant, the teachers college set two goals, which are to produce the best teachers in the U.S. through ASU and lead K-12 school reform.
Although it may be difficult, Ridley said the school is committed to trying and researching new things to meet their goals.
The implementation of the iTeach program, which requires education seniors to spend a full year in an actual classroom, is one way the college plans on going about the reform.
“There are some students saying, ‘man, that sounds like a lot,’ and quite honestly, students are just going to have to decide if they’re really committed to teaching,” he said.
The iTeach program will benefit school districts through the influence of having ASU students in the classroom, Ridley said. Struggling school districts will now have student teachers in the classroom.
“We’re actually going to get in there and get our hands dirty and work with these schools that are failing and try and help them turn around,” he said.
Education junior Lauren Spisak will be participating in the program next year. She agreed that the current system could use some changes.
One thing she has noticed through her student teachings is that several teachers use too much technology and stray from traditional teachings.
“I would definitely want students to be more creative,” Spisak said. “Let them think on their own. Let them be creative. That’s what kids are about. They have imaginations that are out of this world and I don’t think they’re able to use it anymore.”
She sees the benefit in working in school districts that have historically struggled.
“I don’t want to work in a school where it’s the same suburban kids coming in and out,” Spisak said. “I want to work somewhere where people need me.”
By putting students through the program, the school believes ASU will begin to produce the best teachers in America, which is the other goal of the grant. The two goals are very intertwined, Ridley said.
“If you want to produce the best teachers in America, you also have to work with the historically failing schools to strengthen them because that’s the very place where the teachers from ASU will be prepared,” he said.
The completion of the school’s rigorous curriculum will also help the program reach their goal of producing the country’s best teachers, he said.
The college is feeling the pressure from the federal government and has decided to take a leading stance in the reform, Ridley said.
“The nation is putting a boatload of pressure on all colleges of [education] and they’re going to have to change or they’re going to be put out of business,” he said. “It’s that simple and it’s that serious.”
Reach the reporter at cottens@asu.edu
