Reno, NV -- The Board of Regents approved plans today to fill a crucial need for quality teachers in Southern Nevada through an innovative partnership between UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) and the Clark County School District (CCSD).
The school district has been faced with a shortage of teachers due to the area's explosive growth over the past decade. The number of high school graduates will increase by 50 percent between 1997 and 2004, according to the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. In order to meet this growth, the CCSD must hire nearly 1,700 teachers each year.
"Working to fulfill our strategic directions, the Board of Regents has created an innovative partnership between the Board, UNLV, CCSN and CCSD to meet this important community need of training more highly qualified K-12 teachers," said Thalia Dondero, chair of the Regents' Initiative for Teacher Education Task Force which presented its recommendations to the Board today.
The recommendations for the partnerships are framed within five principles to recruit, educate and train K-12 teachers:
- Recruitment of pre-service teachers
- Design and implementation of pre-service education programs
- Design and implementation of in-service education programs
- Identification of funding opportunities for research and assessment
- Identification of legislative initiatives
This past summer, the Board added $3 million to this biennial state budget request to address a particular area where growth and access needs coincided: the graduation of K-12 teachers for the CCSD -- the fastest growing school district in the country.
To meet this goal, UNLV will more than double its number of graduates in teacher education in only four years. The Task Force approved a goal of 1,200 new teachers by 2003. In support of this goal, CCSN will transfer 200 students to UNLV to complete their teacher education by the fall of 2001.
Board Chair Jill Derby created the task force, under the leadership of Regent Thalia Dondero and with the assistance of Regents Mark Alden and David Phillips, to examine the needs created by the teacher shortage and to bring back recommendations to the Board for action. Future meetings are planned to continue the work of the task force.
Task force members met with UNLV President Carol Harter, CCSN President Richard Moore, CCSD Superintendent Brian Cram as well as countless K-16 educators from several organizations to discuss these issues and possible solutions.
For a complete copy of the task force's recommendations, please contact the UCCSN Office of External Relations in Las Vegas at 889-8426.
Comprised of two doctoral-granting universities, four comprehensive community colleges and one environmental research institution, the University and Community College System of Nevada serves the educational and job training needs of the nation's fastest growing state. As Nevada's only system of higher education, the UCCSN provides educational opportunities to more than 82,000 students.
