CSUN Honored for Teacher Education

Cal State Northridge is one of four public universities nationwide honored for outstanding programs in teacher education by the American Assn. of State Colleges and Universities.

The university won the Christa McAuliffe Showcase for Excellence Award for its work with the Los Angeles Unified School District to create the Comprehensive Teaching Institute.

The institute prepares teachers to work in urban, multilingual, multiethnic elementary and secondary schools.

Named after Christa McAuliffe, the schoolteacher who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion, the award was presented Wednesday at the association’s annual meeting in Boca Raton, Fla.

The awards spotlight model programs that have improved the teaching profession. In 1992, the Washington-based higher education association issued a call for reform that culminated in a national conference, Teach America, in which goals for improvement of teacher education programs were set.

The awards recognize successful programs that emphasize at least one of five areas, such as promoting diversity in the teaching profession and connecting teacher education programs with their communities.

In addition to Cal State Northridge, the 1994 McAuliffe Awards recognized teacher education programs at East Texas State, East Carolina and Southeast Missouri State universities.

CSUN’s Comprehensive Teacher Institute targets minority, bilingual and talented university students for recruitment into the teacher eduction program. Key parts of the program include early teaching assistant positions and internships, support from retired teachers during the first year of teaching and mentoring programs organized by district.