COE Award
College of Education wins Top National
‘Best Practices’ recognitions
A premier national association of administrators of teacher colleges today named UALR’s College of Education the winner of the prestigious 2004 Best Practice Award in Support of Teacher Education Quality and Accountability.
It was the first time an Arkansas university has received one of the association’s eight annual Best Practices Awards honoring the highest level of achievement.
The award by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the leading association of deans and directors of teacher training institutions in the nation, is one of eight national prizes honoring the best teacher education program in each category.
UALR’s award recognizes the University’s outstanding performance in exceeding national benchmarks for the accreditation of colleges and schools of education.
The UALR College of Education received the 2004 Best Practice Award in Support of Teacher Education Quality and Accountability, which honors efforts by the winning institution to pursue and maintain the most rigorous standards set by the profession for preparing future teachers by providing in-depth knowledge of the subject matter candidates plan to teach as well as the skills necessary to convey that knowledge to their future students.
The award will be presented to Dean Angela Maynard Sewall on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the AACTE’s 56th Annual Meeting in Chicago .
Dr. Sewall credited her college’s faculty for earning the honor.
“Our faculty constantly strives for and insists on excellence. This recognition is an indicator of their commitment and effort. It is the focus on excellence which has brought national recognition to all of our school personnel preparation programs,” Dr. Sewall said. “It was their effort and the effort of our colleagues in other colleges at this university relative to teacher preparation that helped us secure this national award and other national recognition.”
UALR’s College of Education ’s latest honor comes on the heels of last spring’s decision by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education to reaccredit the UALR College of Education after a rigorous examination, resulting in the highest marks and national recognition from specialty professional associations for all programs engaged in school personnel preparation.
“UALR has a significant record of commitment for K-12 education, not only through our quality teacher education curriculum, but through nationally recognized early literacy activities, technology in the classroom training for public school teachers, and our popular gifted and talented programs and our other fine school personnel preparation programs,” said Chancellor Joel E. Anderson.
AACTE’s Best Practice Awards were established in 1996 and designed to recognize institutions that have demonstrated “best practices” in achieving the association’s strategic goals in eight categories.
“We are pleased that our commitment to the highest standards in the UALR College of Education generates this national recognition for us and for our work in the region and the state. I am proud of the UALR College of Education,” Chancellor Anderson said in congratulating Dean Sewall, her faculty, and staff of the college.