WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bowling Green State University is among five public universities being honored for leadership and innovation in teacher education programs.

BGSU, Central Michigan University, San Diego State University, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Toledo have been named the 2003 recipients of the Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).

The purpose of the award is twofold: To recognize excellence in teacher education programs and to advance the field of teacher education by identifying promising practices and critical issues related to measuring the impact of programs on teacher candidate knowledge and the impact of these teachers on pupil learning.

AASCU members prepare more than 50 percent of all new teachers in the United States, and those member institutions are working to increase both the quantity and quality of teachers for America’s classrooms, according to AASCU President Constantine W. (Deno) Curris. “Many of our teacher education programs are doing outstanding jobs. We want to recognize the best among those programs,” Curris said in announcing the award winners.

BGSU is being honored for the TAPESTRIES Program (Toledo Area Partnership in Education: Support Teachers as Resources to Improve Elementary Science). TAPESTRIES is a partnership between the Toledo and Springfield Public Schools, the University of Toledo and BGSU. The program is designed to achieve a comprehensive, system-wide transformation of K-6 science education and to improve science teaching and learning through sustained professional development of all K-6 teachers. “

Bowling Green State University believes universities have important roles in forwarding education at every level,” said BGSU Provost John Folkins. “By partnering with elementary and secondary schools in the Toledo area, TAPESTRIES shows how universities can assist teachers in giving students the foundation they need in science for future learning. It is nice to receive national recognition for a program that reflects a key component of our educational philosophy at Bowling Green.”

Central Michigan University’s award-winning program, called The Michigan Schools in the Middle Program, provides teacher preparation and professional development for pre-service and in-service teachers at the middle school level. The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s CADRE Project (Career Advancement and Development for Recruits and Experienced teachers) is an intensive induction program designed to assist newly certified teachers. San Diego State University’s City Heights K-12 Credential Program revolves around a site-based cohort of pre-service teachers who remain together throughout the entire program.

AASCU’s Christa McAuliffe Award, named in honor of the teacher who died in the Challenger disaster, was first presented in the 1980s. In 2001 the AASCU Board of Directors authorized a change in focus for the award—an emphasis on honoring programs that could document the success of their graduates and their impact on the pupils that they teach.

This year’s awards will be presented at the 2003 AASCU Annual Meeting scheduled for Nov. 23-25 in Carlsbad, Calf. The AASCU represents more than 430 public colleges, universities and systems of higher education throughout the United States and its territories.

(Posted November 19, 2003)