Title II Report 2004 - 2005

1. 774 students admitted into professional education were enrolled during 2004-2005
2. 265 students were enrolled in student teaching in one of the two terms
3. We had the following mix of faculty supervising student teachers:
   1. 1.46 FTE from among 7 people who are full-time in professional education.
   2. 2.67 FTE from among 24 people who are appointed part-time faculty in professional education and full-time on campus, e.g., music or English faculty
   3. 1.06 FTE from among 9 people who are appointed as part-time faculty in professional education and not otherwise employed by the campus; may be part-time university faculty or K-12 teachers or retired teachers.
   4. Total number of FTE faculty supervising student teachers in 2004-2005 was 5.19 FTE from among 40 people.
   5. Student/faculty ratio per semester was: 51 to 1
4. Average number of hours per week required of student participation in supervised student teaching: 40
5. Total number of weeks of supervised student teaching: 18
6. Total number of hours required: 720
7. Is your teacher education program currently approved by the state? Yes
8. Is your teacher education program currently under a designation as "low-performing" by the state? No.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point teacher education programs share the vision that our students will encounter rich, multi-cultural experiences, varied and meaningful opportunities for experimentation within K-12 classrooms, a sound understanding of educational pedagogy and knowledge of the most current views regarding educational practices.  Additionally, we nurture our students in becoming reflective practitioners, capable of anticipating future needs and changes within the professional arena and capable of assuming roles of leadership.

Each of our programs has adopted a framework of Wisconsin Teacher Standards that are woven throughout the students’ course of study.  These standards include building a solid understanding of content knowledge, understanding diverse needs of students, understanding accommodations to be made in teaching each child, and understanding design and implementation of on-going assessment practices, and possessing a strong knowledge of pedagogical applications.  Students graduating from our programs who are recommended for licensure must demonstrate competence in the knowledge, skills and dispositions as related to each of the ten Wisconsin Teacher Standards.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has a 100+ year history in teacher preparation.  Teacher certification programs comprise the largest academic interest on campus with the greatest number of teacher certifications in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, Exceptional Education, Science Education, Speech Language Pathology, English, English as a Second Language, Physical Education, Family and Consumer Education, Mathematics, Music and Social Studies.

The hub for teacher education programs is the School of Education (SOE), the home of the University’s largest major, elementary education.  Elementary education students enter teacher education as juniors, with an average 3.37 grade point, making this the most selective major on campus.  Also located in the School are majors in exceptional education and early childhood education as well as teacher certification coursework for all Early Childhood through Adolescent and all Early Adolescent through Adolescent majors .  Full time placement in schools for all education fields in 2003-2004 was 63% and 61% in elementary education.

The School sponsors the state’s largest student education organization, Student Wisconsin Education Association, that routinely wins national awards from the National Education Association (NEA), including the single Best Student Chapter in the nation award for the past five years, as well as the 2000-2001 Best Advisor Award, the 2001-2002 Best Web-Site Award and the 2002-2003 Most Outstanding Student Leader Award went to Diana Spargo, one of it’s officers.  The School also teaches the largest UWSP graduate program, with over 1,000 teachers enrolled in regular, on-site, or technology-mediated graduate courses.

The School of Education is at the forefront of educational innovation.   With grant support of $285,000, the School has created two projects to support Hmong-American students in pursuing teacher certification and graduate degrees in education.  The School houses other innovative programs including:  UWSP Site-Based Master’s program, Network for Gifted and Talented Education, and state headquarters for Wisconsin Creative Problem Solving (Destination ImagiNation).  UWSP faculty participate in creative use of distance and Internet for class delivery and service activities.  A recent survey revealed that over 1,200 K-12 teachers and 6,000 school-aged students were involved in UWSP enrichment programs in any given year.