WASHINGTON, DC (June 1, 2004)— The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (American Board) today announced its partnership with Franklin Pierce College to offer an online preparation tool for the Passport to TeachingSM certification examination. The four-module program focuses on developing and strengthening Professional Teaching Knowledge to better prepare candidates seeking American Board certification.
“We are pleased to have Franklin Pierce College team with us to provide a new resource to help our Passport to Teaching candidates become highly qualified teachers," said Dr. Kathleen Madigan, president of the American Board. “Franklin Pierce College has the ability to provide a solid teaching foundation through online coursework and mentor monitoring. Their innovative approach to teacher training is a perfect compliment to our standards and research-based approach. This partnership will certainly serve to strengthen a candidate’s preparation."
With almost twenty years in Teacher Conversion Education and extensive experience in online course delivery, Franklin Pierce College is able to teach and improve Professional Teaching Knowledge skills at a disciplined and comfortable pace. The Professional Teaching Knowledge exam covers four areas: instructional design; effective instructional delivery; classroom management and organization; and assessment. Following a self-diagnostic assessment, the program recommends areas that need further development. In addition to the coursework, this self-regulated program also has a mentoring feature, where an education professional’s knowledge and experience can be utilized.
“Franklin Pierce College has been a leader in Teacher Conversion education for years and we are pleased that we can continue to be a resource for prospective teachers,“ stated Dr.George J. Hagerty, president of the college. “The American Board has developed an outstanding model for Teacher Conversion, and Franklin Pierce College is proud to partner with them on this important national project to get the most competent and best trained teachers in schools across the country."
Targeting mid-career changers, recent graduates and teachers seeking certification, Passport to Teaching offers computer-based assessments in subject area and professional teaching knowledge that provide a new approach to certification. All candidates for Passport to Teaching certification must hold a bachelor’s degree,complete a criminal background check, and meet American Board standards by passing the professional teaching knowledge and subject area knowledge examinations.
About the American Board
The American Board addresses the need to place a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. Through assessments of rigorous standards in professional teaching and subject area knowledge, the American Board offers a new approach to certification that helps states identify qualified individuals with the knowledge to boost student academic achievement.
The American Board is recognized as approved provider of teacher certification in the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The recently released Teaching Commission report, Teaching at Risk: A Call to Action cited the American Board’s program as a promising and innovative model for testing and certification.
The American Board is also recognized by Secretary Paige as an innovative new option for teacher certification in “Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge," The Secretary’s Second Annual Report on Teacher Quality, July 2003 and also in the U.S. Department of Education Toolkit for Teachers, September 2003.
About Franklin Pierce College
Franklin Pierce College is a four-year, coeducational, nonsectarian college located in the State of New Hampshire. The main campus in Rindge, New Hampshire is situated on over 1,000 wooded acres on the shore of Pearly Pond near the base of Mount Monadnock. The College also operates seven Graduate and Professional Studies centers in Concord, Keene, Lebanon, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth and Salem. Franklin Pierce College’s curriculum is a blend of traditional liberal arts, pre-professional study, teacher preparation programs, and a nationally recognized core curriculum – “The Individual and Community." The college is also one of twelve founding members of the national “Foundations in Excellence" project, has received the Templeton Award for Character-Building Colleges and has twice been recognized for teaching excellence by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
For more information about the college, please visit: www.fpc.edu.
To learn more about the American Board, please visit www.abcte.org.