ECU’s College of Education lauded for links to community colleges
GREENVILLE, NC — The College of Education at East Carolina University has received a national award for its collaboration with community colleges to respond to the demand for more rural teachers.
ECU received the “Best Practice Award for Collaboration with Community Colleges” Feb. 27 from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education at the organization’s annual meeting in New York. ECU’s collaborative effort is known as Wachovia Partnership East.
“East Carolina University recognizes the importance of working closely with community colleges to support teacher candidates through their entire preparation from the community college to completion of a four-year degree,” said Sharon P. Robinson, president and CEO of the association. “Without East Carolina’s and the state’s many community colleges’ strong commitment to partnership, the profession would lose many potential teachers.”
The award recognizes from among its 800 member institutions outstanding collaborations between teacher education programs at AACTE member institutions and community colleges.
John Swope, dean of ECU’s College of Education, who received the award on behalf of the university, said the honor highlights the college’s motto of ‘Excellence through Partnership’ and brings deserved recognition to an exemplary teacher preparation program.
“We are deeply proud of our College of Education and its splendid heritage here at East Carolina and are grateful to AACTE for its important recognition of our work,” Swope said.
Entering its fifth year, Wachovia Partnership East aims to fulfill the high demand for public school teachers across the region. Sponsored by the Wachovia Foundation, the consortium consists of 18 community colleges, a private college, an Air Force base and 34 public school systems in eastern North Carolina. The program, offered through the College’s department of Curriculum and Instruction, enrolls 234 students, offers degree programs in elementary and special education. It is designed to accommodate both non-traditional and working students through on-site and online instruction.
With more than 1,350 students, the College of Education is one of the exemplary programs in North Carolina, according to the State Board of Education’s Higher Education Performance Report, and receives numerous grants every year to address the state’s teacher shortage. In 2002, the college received the Christa McAuliffe Exemplary Teacher Education Award for its Latham Clinical Schools Network.