Meeting a Critical Community Need: FAU's Urban
Academy
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Helping to fulfill a critical employment need
in the community is one of the greatest roles a university can
play.
That's why FAU is at
the forefront of helping to deliver well-trained teachers to low
performing urban schools, where the turnover rate has grown over
the years at a dizzying pace.
Urban Schools have suffered because teachers put into those
environments are often ill-prepared for the cultural and academic
challenges.
Most quit or run to
suburban schools.
To tackle this challenge, the Broward County Educational
Consortium, of which FAU is a charter member, formed the Urban
Academies Broward County Program (UABC), designed to train teachers
for placement in some of Broward County’s hardest to staff
schools.
In 2006, the program
was recognized by the Ash Institute at Harvard University as one of
the seven most innovative government programs in the United States.
Over a six year period, the program prepared more than 360
teacher interns, all of whom have accepted positions at Broward
County schools.
More than 90 percent
have remained in their jobs and more than 90 percent of the staff
who work with them reported a high degree of satisfaction.
Rhesa Achille and Jessen Charles are just two examples of a
growing population of Broward County students who are being
channeled into teaching in urban classroom settings, where teachers
are desperately needed.
When Rhesa was in middle school student, she and her 8th
grade classmates signed up for the Urban Teachers Academies Program
(UTAP), an Urban Academy initiative, as a way to get out of class.
She never considered
becoming a teacher.
Teaching wasn't on
Jessen Charles' radar screen either when his 9th grade English
teacher recruited him into UTAP.
Today, both are Stranahan High School graduates preparing for
their careers in teaching by attending the FAU, Broward Community
College 2+2 program on full scholarships.
Once they graduate,
they will return to urban classroom settings well trained to teach
and inspire young students.
Both attribute their experience working with students at
North Fork Elementary School, a Broward County school struggling to
raise low achievement scores, to their choice to pursue careers as
teachers.
"When I went to Norfolk, I really enjoyed it," said Rhesa.
"I worked there for
three years and the experience made me want to become a teacher."
"I started helping little kids and saw that they reacted
better to someone younger," added Jessen.
"During my field
experience at both North Fork and New River Middle School, I saw
students reading better.
That was rewarding."
Rhesa, who lives with her grandmother, mother and younger
brother, will be the first in her immediate family to attend
college.
She has lived in Fort
Lauderdale since she moved from California in the first grade.
Her dream is to teach
English, share her love of poetry and make a difference.
"My goal is to go back to a school like Stranahan, where I
can make a difference with kids who aren't exposed to the bigger
world," she said.
"I want to help
broaden their horizons."
Jessen's parents were both teachers in their native Haiti,
but he and his younger brother have been raised in Fort Lauderdale.
His goal is to teach
math at the middle school level.
Hallandale Elementary School is one example of a school that
has benefited from hiring FAU graduates trained to teach in urban
schools. Sharon Ludwig, the principal of the school since 1995,
said her school was one of the first to participate.
Successful at moving
Hallandale from a "D" to an "A," Principal Ludwig proudly reports
that most of her teachers are "out of the Urban Academy."
"The reason we're an 'A' school is our focus on getting the
best and the brightest teachers I can find," she said, claiming
that graduates now clamor to get into Hallandale. "The
universities, especially FAU, now give the teachers real enough
training to prepare them for urban schools."
"The UABC model works because it relies on locally-trained
teachers who have desires to teach students in our community's
urban schools," echoed Dr. Kathleen O’Rourke, the FAU liaison
to Broward Schools.
The Urban Teachers Academy Program (UTAP), of which the first
students will be graduating in 2008, begins tapping potential
students starting in middle school and sometimes as early as
elementary school.
Those interested and
able to pursue teaching careers enter a rigorous four-year high
school program, which includes practical experience at local
schools, exposure to higher education and instruction from master
teachers.
Upon successful
completion, the students are guaranteed a debt-free college
education through the Broward Teacher Fellowship.
UTAP coordinators
continue to support the students throughout college as well.
Graduates are
guaranteed positions in urban Broward Schools.
Training and mentoring are key reasons this program has been
so successful, says the professor. "We conduct lots of training
with both faculty and students to make them more able and
comfortable to work in urban schools," she explained.
"Today, we're finding
that many students want to go into urban schools, because they find
it so rewarding."
Sara Rogers, coordinator of the Urban Academy for Broward
County, says the program is turning out highly-qualified teachers
to teach in schools, which in the past didn't always get the best
teachers.
"We're putting good teachers in underperforming schools," she
said.
"All FAU students
receive extensive student teaching experience and field experience
with master teachers. Because of the exposure of the program,
our best students at FAU are now starting to identify future
teachers for us."
Through the nearly decade-old Urban Academies, and the newer
UTAP at five Broward high schools, the collaboration between the
school district, FAU and other local universities is meeting its
objectives of raising the achievement of urban students to the
highest level, encouraging and supporting high school students
interested in teaching as a career and increasing the number of
qualified teachers available for Broward County schools.
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