Dallas Teacher Discusses Current Issues in Education
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Cathleen Cadigan, who teaches history at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, was 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 Cadigan, a passion for history blends naturally into a love of teaching and helping students learn. Cadigan teaches AP® U.S. History, AP U.S. Government and an elective course in Holocaust studies. She is known for engaging her students’ interest and balancing affection with high standards for behavior and effort. Of the 1,421 students at Thomas Jefferson High School, more than 98 percent are minorities — many of whom are immigrants or first-generation American citizens. While this creates challenges, Cadigan says she has watched as most students rise to meet or exceed the expectations their teachers set for them.
“Like so many excellent teachers out there, Cathleen inspires students to achieve — to want more for themselves and to require it of themselves. Projects like this one help us to remember and celebrate teacher excellence and the quality of their work,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “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.”
“There is virtue in struggle, and all students benefit from being challenged,” Cadigan said.
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 Southwestern Region VP Ann Wright
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We are proud to introduce a new standardized testing system for schools and districts in Texas: the College Board’s College Readiness Pathway. Educators and administrators now have a powerful new resource — an integrated series of assessments that provide the right information about students’ achievement at the right time to implement curricular modifications — to ensure that every student graduates from high school prepared for success in college and beyond. The three tools include the following:
ReadiStep™ — A low-stakes middle school assessment to help guide students by providing them with the steps they need to set them on the path toward college readiness. This flexible eighth-grade test prepares teachers as well by indicating where students are in their learning and what curricular modifications can be made to meet students’ needs appropriately.
PSAT/NMSQT® — A national assessment designed to put high school students on the correct path to SAT® readiness and college and career planning with robust tools such as Score Report Plus, My College QuickStart™ and MyRoad™. Additionally, the PSAT/NMSQT is important for educators to identify key skills that students are mastering and that still require additional instruction.
SAT® — The most widely used college admission test, the SAT offers an opportunity for students to show their skills in reading, writing and mathematics (like ReadiStep and PSAT/NMSQT) — the same skills needed for college success.
Through this systematic method of testing students, a clear College Readiness Pathway is achieved, one that offers the right tools and the right information at the right time. Each assessment tests knowledge in the same three core areas, yet allows educators to view student growth as they mature from eighth grade, to 10th grade, to 11th grade. This system will indeed assist schools, districts and the state of Texas in preparing students for success in college and beyond.
Career Opportunities in the College Board’s Southwestern Regional OfficeTo view current job openings in the Southwestern Regional Office, visit theCollege Board’s career page. |
Events & Workshops
Click here to see events and workshops in the Southwestern Region.
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