U of M, Memphis City Schools, and Plough Foundation Establish New Teacher Center
For release: April 3, 2003
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

University of Memphis President Shirley Raines, Memphis City Schools Superintendent Johnnie B. Watson, and Plough Foundation Chairman Diane Rudner announced today the creation of a New Teacher Center at The University of Memphis. The Center is being established with an $863,000 grant from the Plough Foundation and will be fully operational at the start of the 2003-2004 school year this fall.

The goal of the project is to provide professional development and mentoring that will increase new-teacher retention rates and improve student achievement in the Memphis City Schools.

The New Teacher Center will be modeled after and affiliated with the highly successful New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz. That program has enjoyed new-teacher five-year retention rates of 94 percent, while the national average is 50 percent.

Under the U of M program, a group of veteran teachers will be released from full-time teaching positions for two years to work with new teachers. Mentors will meet on a weekly basis with new teachers to assist with teaching strategies, lesson planning and identifying curriculum resources. They also will conduct classroom observations, offer teaching demonstrations, coach new teachers in student and parent interaction, and provide emotional support.

U of M faculty members will develop and present seminars that will give new teachers a chance to network, as well as offer supplemental instruction and problem-solving forums. Memphis City Schools will provide $350,000 in salary support for the mentor teachers over the two-year grant period and release time for new teachers to participate in program activities.

Seventy-five new teachers from Memphis City Schools will be enrolled at the Center during each year of the two-year pilot program. Their involvement will provide valuable insight into the impact of teacher mentoring on student achievement in impoverished urban schools, as well as information the University can use to refine its academic teacher-preparation program.

Educational literature clearly shows that the quality of the classroom teacher has the most significant impact on student achievement, and that students in classrooms with credentialed and more experienced teachers (five years or more) demonstrate higher achievement than those with beginning teachers or those lacking appropriate credentialing.

Research also indicates that beginning teachers who do not participate in a formal mentoring program are twice as likely to leave teaching as those who do participate. Recruiting, hiring, and keeping quality teachers are critical issues for Memphis City Schools, with half of current classroom teachers having five or fewer years of experience. Annual turnover requires MCS to hire 800 teachers each year.

For more information, contact Dr. Ric Hovda, dean of the U of M College of Education, at 678-5495.

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