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CIC SELECTS 20 INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO LEAD COLLABORATIVE EFFORT IN STRENGTHENING TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, DC – The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) announced today that it has selected 20 independent colleges and universities as leadership institutions in a new program, entitled Teachers for the 21st Century, that will strengthen teacher preparation programs.

Improving the effectiveness of K-12 school teachers is an urgent task. CIC institutions, which graduate 20 percent of the nation’s future teachers annually, have long played an important role in this work and now have a significant opportunity to contribute fresh leadership. The challenge today is to incorporate into teacher preparation programs new “21st century” skills, tools, content, and assessments so that the next generation of teachers is able to teach them effectively to K-12 students. The goal of CIC’s Teach 21 program is to improve and enrich teacher preparation programs by providing faculty members with access to emerging resources and to a variety of partner organizations to advance 21st century learning.

CIC’s Teachers for the 21st Century program will, over a four-year period, assist faculty members to integrate information and communication technologies, content, skills, and literacies into courses taken by prospective teachers. Each institution will be represented by a team of faculty members who are involved in teacher preparation, drawn both from the education department and from the arts and sciences disciplines in which teacher education students major. The initial group of 20 institutions will work with CIC to develop a series of in-person workshops and online seminars, and to disseminate exemplary instructional materials.

“As the national service association for private colleges and universities, most with teacher education programs,” said CIC President Richard Ekman, “CIC can influence a large number of institutions.” Ekman added that the main goal of the project is to enable teacher education programs (and associated disciplinary courses) to improve the ways in which they prepare K-12 teachers.

The CIC program is one component of a major initiative of the Microsoft Corporation, known as Partners in Learning, which is collaborating with governments and educational institutions to improve K-12 education around the globe. Currently, Microsoft has projects in more than 75 countries. The U.S. Partners in Learning initiative is a five-year, $35 million effort that includes several state-level initiatives, the development of high quality materials at the national level, and the diffusion of effective practices to other settings. Linda Zecher, vice president of the U.S. Public Sector at Microsoft, said “the education community is facing an enormous challenge in developing and delivering 21st century teaching methodologies to keep pace with today’s knowledge economy. Within that challenge lies an opportunity for community members to support innovators, helping states and educators to discover and foster the long-term education solutions that exist within their systems.” The Microsoft Corporation has awarded CIC $495,000 for its work in the program.

Institutions participating in the Teach 21 project include: Alverno College (WI), Benedictine University (IL), Catawba College (NC), Chatham College (PA), Clarke College (IA), College of Mount St. Joseph (OH), Ferrum College (VA), Gannon University (PA), Lesley University (MA), Manchester College (IN), Marywood University (PA), Mercy College (NY), Mount St. Mary’s College (CA), Ottawa University (KS), Pace University (NY), Saint Leo University (FL), Spring Hill College (AL), St. Bonaventure University (NY), The Sage Colleges (NY), and Wheelock College (MA).

For more information on the Teach 21 program, visit CIC’s website at www.cic.edu/projects_services/infoservices/T21.asp.

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The Council of Independent Colleges is the national service organization for small and mid-sized independent colleges and universities. It includes more than 550 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and more than 50 higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance private higher education’s contributions to society. To fulfill this mission, CIC provides its members with skills, tools, and knowledge that address aspects of leadership, financial management and performance, academic quality, and institutional visibility. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

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