ECU School of Education passes performance review

East Carolina University’s School of Education has been accredited this fall under the new, performance oriented standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

East Carolina is one of 66 schools of education receiving either initial or continuing accreditation from NCATE in its most recent round of decisions. The organization is responsible for professional accreditation of teacher education. The new accreditation standards emphasize teacher performance with a focus on what teacher candidates should know and what skills they will be expected to demonstrate. The standards are based on new state licensing principles developed by a task force of the Council of Chief State School Officers and are compatible with emerging state licensing expectations.

Henry A. Peel, the interim dean of the School of Education, said “We are delighted to receive such an outstanding evaluation. The faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to raise the standards of excellence at the School of Education and our continuing accreditation highlights our successes of recent years.” ECU, with the largest teacher education program in the state, has been nationally recognized for its efforts to improve teacher preparation and the practice of education in the local schools. Both the Model Clinical Teaching Program and the Peer Coaching Project have received awards as models of how universities and public schools can work together to improve education.

NCATE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation as the only accrediting body for teacher education programs.