From the Superintendent of Public Instruction

Successful professional preparation is vital to the implementation of Michigan’s revolutionary Michigan Merit Curriculum. As part of the Michigan State Board of Education/Department of Education Strategic Plan for 2005-2010, the focus of our combined work is to attain substantial and meaningful improvement in academic achievement for all students. One of our main objectives includes ensuring that Michigan classrooms are staffed with high quality teachers and paraprofessionals under the direction of administrators who are committed to instructional excellence. This begins with strong preparation programs provided by our state’s teacher education programs and continues through the various mentoring programs offered to educators entering the field. This issue of Leading Change focuses on Professional Preparation and highlights teacher training, also known as pre-service, in Michigan.

The Strategic Plan includes efforts to ensure that professional development is targeted at building upon and enhancing specific academic skills and content knowledge. Promoting the use of technology-based resources for professional development is essential in our quickly evolving culture. We are also exploring and developing incentive programs to recruit the best and brightest teachers and looking for ways to keep our best educators excited and motivated to continue to develop new skills and expand their careers.

It’s up to a strong, fully prepared teaching force to prepare Michigan’s students for success in the classroom. The Michigan Department of Education’s Teacher Preparation Policy Study Group (TPPSG) is an exciting endeavor that promises to improve an already excellent system. The Study Group is in charge of reviewing the set of state policies associated with teacher preparation and instructional approval. Recommendations from the TPPSG are expected by April 2007.

Communication will be a key element as we move forward. While the educational landscape changes, Leading Change will strive to provide education stakeholders with an in-depth perspective on the major educational policy and related information in Michigan today.

In order to make Leading Change more user friendly, the format has been changed to better reflect the needs of readers. To download Leading Change, visit the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) Web site at www.michigan.gov/mde or the Center for Educational Networking (CEN) Web site at www.cenmi.org.

Members of the Michigan Department of Education, State Board of Education, and Office of State Superintendent will continue to pursue policies that have a positive effect in Michigan’s K-12 classrooms. We are constantly reminded that all students can achieve at high levels, as our students continue to demonstrate on a daily basis.

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