Carnegie taps BC for teacher program

By Elizabeth Boch, Globe Correspondent, 8/24/2003

For the first time, a Boston-area university has been tapped to join a multimillion-dollar effort by the Carnegie Corp. to strengthen the quality of the nation's public school teachers.

Boston College received a $5 million grant to create a stronger liberal arts curriculum for education majors, longer internships in public schools, and more support to help new teachers cope with the critical first few years they spend in the classroom.

The college's Lynch School of Education was one of seven teacher-preparation programs across the country that collectively received $65 million in grants this summer.

Mary Brabeck, dean of the Lynch School, said the funds would be used to help other liberal arts departments target courses to education majors to better prepare them to teach subjects such as English, math, and geology.

"We want people who teach college biology to know what a high school biology teacher needs to know to teach well," Brabeck said.

Joe Quinn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said more assessments would be created for graduating students, possibly through additional exams or auditing their student teaching classes. The state already requires all licensed teachers to pass a certification exam, and about 90 percent of Boston College graduates pass.

Brabeck said the college also plans to increase the support offered to recently-graduated teachers during their first three years in schools -- a period officials describe as key to retaining new teachers. The grant, she said, will help fund faculty mentors for new teachers who could audit them in the classroom.

"Usually, we graduate our students and say, `Goodbye.' Now we'll say, `See you in the fall when you start work,' " she said.

That program could take some time to develop because the grant money will arrive over a five-year period. Charles Skidmore, headmaster at Brighton High School, said it could be invaluable in improving teacher retention. Many Lynch School graduates work at Brighton High, and the college holds workshops for the high school faculty.

The Lynch School may also lengthen an existing student-teacher internship program from 10 weeks to a year, with some students receiving tuition reimbursement. Boston College must match the $5 million Carnegie grant through fund-raising and endowments.