Two Midwestern Teachers Discuss Issues in Education
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 Art teacher Bill Jeter |
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| English language arts teacher Judy Ellsesser-Painter |
Two teachers from the Midwestern Region — art teacher Bill Jeter, from the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minn., and English language arts teacher Judy Ellsesser-Painter, from South Webster High School in Ohio — were among eight national teachers featured in a new report just out from the College Board and Phi Delta Kappa International. Teachers Are the Center of Education: Profiles of Eight Teachers salutes the work and importance of teachers and offers insights on current issues in education from eight outstanding teachers, selected for their dedication to students, and commitment to their profession and to excellence in education.
The report serves both to confirm what is publically acknowledged — that teachers are at the center of education — and to note the challenges teachers face in today’s schools. Nominated by College Board members and staff, the teachers, who epitomize the profession’s most admirable qualities, represent a diverse set of disciplines, locations, types of schools and student populations.
The words of these eight teachers will help all who hear them to chart a “partial road map for changes in public policy,” as Arlene Ackerman, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, wrote in the report’s foreword.
For Jeter, teaching is a kind of art form — something to be honed, reviewed and even deliberated over. That’s why he works to fuse art with academics in ways that illuminate both. Jeter was selected to participate in the report because of his commitment to students and their mutual success in the arts and academics. His graphic design and printmaking students, who are juniors and seniors selected from promising young artists throughout Minnesota, are required to analyze material and respond as both artists and academics.
College Board President Gaston Caperton said, “Teachers like Bill who can braid the beauty and resonance of art with the focus of academics have achieved something rare.”
Halfway is just not good enough for Ellsesser-Painter’s students, who have come to regard their English language arts teacher as part sergeant, part coach and part instructor due to her engaging but demanding style. Whether they’re AP® English students preparing for the upcoming AP Exam or others wrestling with the elements of poetry, Ellsesser-Painter sets the bar high and encourages everyone to reach for it. Although she has been in the classroom now for 29 years, Ellsesser-Painter did not set out to be a teacher; she planned on being a speech and hearing therapist. After spending time in a classroom, however, she realized that the combination of student enthusiasm and teacher interaction was something she wanted for herself.
“Projects like this one help us to remember and celebrate teacher excellence and the quality of their work,” said Caperton. “Judy’s commitment and dedication show how teachers can accomplish such remarkable things in the classroom. It’s good for the public to get a glimpse of what’s right about public education, and we believe that starts with the most crucial force in learning: our teachers.”
Ackerman added, “In words that we can all understand, these eight teachers from different backgrounds, teaching different subjects to different kinds of students under different circumstances, provide a human voice and real-life context for the policies we must work to implement.”
To read Teachers Are the Center of Education in its entirety, go to www.collegeboard.com/teacheradvocacy.
A Note from Midwestern Region VP Ileana Rodriguez
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| VP Ileana Rodriguez |
Dear Midwestern colleagues,
Every academic year, the fall season is a time of renewed efforts by educators seeking to improve and do their best for learners. At the College Board, we look forward to this season as a great time to partner with educators across the country in innovative efforts to advance college readiness and success. Thus far, this year has provided significant transformation opportunities for education with new streams of funding designed to reward and encourage innovation through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. At the regional level, we are providing resources and support to districts and schools in the pursuit of grants and funding opportunities to expand and advance college readiness initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about how the College Board can help your school district be informed and effective in the pursuit of funding opportunities to advance AP® programs and other college readiness and success initiatives, please e-mail us at arra@collegeboard.org .
One of the ways in which we connect with and provide free consultative support to educators and education organizations across the region is through our series of professional development events and visits to schools, districts and higher education institutions. Last academic year, we engaged in more than 700 visits to schools, districts, higher education institutions and education leaders across the Midwestern Region. We would welcome the opportunity to visit your institution to discuss college readiness and success initiatives and explore how we may be a partner in your efforts. Please contact us at romwro@collegeboard.org to schedule a visit with your College Board educational manager.
This fall we are leading the way in the integration of technology to reach out to more educators across the region with our free professional development events, such as the Fall Counselor Workshops. Not only for counselors, these workshops are an excellent way for all educators, from K–12 to higher education, to receive the most up-to-date information on the College Board’s programs and services and learn about the most recent efforts in advocacy on behalf of our membership. If you didn’t get a chance to attend one of the face-to-face or webinar Fall Counselor Workshops, make sure you log on to www.host-collegeboard.com/fcw2009/on_demand.html to view and listen to the presentation online and get access to updated materials for the 2009-10 academic year.
More than 180 educators from the Midwestern Region are attending the College Board’s Forum 2009 in New York, Oct. 21–23. David Gupta, executive director of K–12 services; Leslie Larocca, senior director of higher education services; and I look forward to welcoming you to the Forum and connecting with you throughout the event. Make sure you join us Thursday, Oct. 22, for the Midwestern Regional breakfast at 7:30 a.m. For more information about Forum 2009, please go to www.collegeboard.com/forum .
Hope you are enjoying a great fall!
Events & Workshops
Click here to see events and workshops in the Midwestern Region.
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