Gifts Help Support ‘Teachers
UConn Foundation newsletter Momentum, Fall 2006 issue
An initiative to improve teacher education has received major support from a Stamford-based foundation.
The McLeod Blue Skye Foundation has pledged a $250,000 endowment for the Teachers for a New Era (TNE) project at UConn to sponsor an annual TNE Faculty Fellow in math or science who will support the enhancement of those curricula for education students.
TNE was created in 2002 by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to improve K-12 teacher preparation and pupil learning through evidence-based research, the integration of education and liberal arts studies, systematic clinical experiences and extending support of new teachers. UConn is one of only 11 colleges and universities selected to participate. UConn’s TNE program is a broadly supported University initiative, with full backing from the Board of Trustees, a requirement from Carnegie to demonstrate institutional support.
TNE seeks to identify the best methods of classroom instruction through measurable evidence-based research, and the integration of liberal arts and education curriculum so that all students receive a practical, thorough education in pedagogy and subject matters.
“TNE ensures that the next generation of teachers is prepared in the arts and sciences,” says Dr. Scott Brown, project director of TNE at UConn. “When you have, for example, math majors and education majors sitting in the same advanced math class, you’re creating a richer education and conversation for both.”
The program also aims to improve new teachers’ work experience and effectiveness through systematic clinical placements in K-12 schools during their training.
The $5-million Carnegie grant required that a dollar-for-dollar match be raised in outright contributions. Of the $5 million in matching funds, $1.5 million is required in endowed funds to support the project in perpetuity; the Blue Skye Foundation joins other donors, including Christine ’67 and Philip ’66, ’67 Lodewick, in building toward that goal.
“Our country is at risk for losing its competitive advantage since too few students are pursuing advanced technical degrees. We hope that with our support TNE will be able to identify how to keep students interested in studying math and science and better prepare teachers for those critical subjects,” says Elaine McLeod SON ’78, vice president of the McLeod Blue Skye Foundation. “I had great teachers who prepared me for my career and am grateful that we can establish this endowment to encourage the next generation of educators.”
UConn’s efforts are centered on several endowed chairs in educational assessment, urban education and liberal arts and sciences, as well as initiatives to increase the use of technology for professional mentoring, tracking assessment and outcomes, and helping new teachers seek assistance and receive guidance early in their careers.
More information about the TNE program is available at www.tne.uconn.edu or by contacting Lisa Baronio, VP for development at the UConn Foundation at 860.486.5000 x4618.
