Districts across the country are facing severe shortages of teachers--especially in certain subjects (math, science, special education, career and technical education, and bilingual education) and in specific schools (urban, rural, high-poverty, high-minority, and low-achieving). The severity of the teacher shortage problem varies significantly by…

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

This paper is divided into two main sections. The first deals with trends in teacher education in college and university preservice programs in Colorado and with school-based inservice programs, and covers curriculum innovations and general program characteristics. Specific programs are cited as illustrations. The second section lists issues and…

Nineteen individuals with outstanding potential as teachers participated in an innovative alternative certification program in Colorado. The project united school districts, a major teacher training institution, and a state education agency in an intensive collaboration to develop new methods of teacher certification while maintaining traditional…

Part of a series on contemporary school reform and special education, this report discusses how states are building capacity for standards-based reform. An introduction describes seven key areas in which states must build classroom and organizational level capacities, including: (1) teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions; (2) students'…

In 1983, Colorado began a project to augment its pool of qualified French and Spanish teachers, enhance the foreign language programs of participating schools, improve the skills of French and Spanish teachers already teaching, meet the need of isolated rural districts, and develop alternative and accelerated teacher certification. A task force…

This report of the First National Conference of the U.S. Office of Education Tri-University Project in Elementary Education (a project to study what goes into the education of teachers and to picture optimum learning situations for children with the aim of improving the education of teachers) includes a list of conference participants; an…

This is a collection of reports on innovative practices in student teaching programs. The label "innovative" is justified on the basis of the investigation's scope. Identification of innovative student teaching practices was accomplished by contacting chief state school officers, chairmen and members of state commissions on teacher…