Ten Virginia colleges and universities will substantially enhance all aspects of their programs to prepare future middle school math and science teachers. The materials and programs that will form the basis for this work were developed and tested through the Virginia Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers (VCEPT), a National Science Foundation funded program, which is completing its sixth and final project year. Additional teacher preparation programs will join with VCEPT partners to address a critical state need by developing programs which will produce many more middle school mathematics and science teachers. The Virginia Department of Education will partner with this collaborative in its mission to train teachers who are well prepared to meet the new Virginia licensure requirements. A statewide conference of all Virginia institutions with teacher preparation programs will be held during the project period. The FIPSE institutions produce 62% of the teachers in Virginia; in this conference we will encourage the other Virginia institutions, which produce the remaining 38% of teachers, to also focus on this challenge.

The project plan models a successful structure initiated and refined under the VCEPT program. It will feature teams of Education, Mathematics, and Science faculty from each institution working together with VCEPT faculty to develop/refine appropriate courses and curricula which will attract and prepare quality middle school mathematics and science teachers. An annual Summer Colloquium will allow all participants to share ideas, learn of new national Best Practices, and conduct structured visits to observe classes, which have been developed, refined and validated through extensive VCEPT assessment. Teams will work with partner institutions and at their own institutions to develop their own programs through adoption/adaptation of courses and curricula. A Clinical Faculty mentoring program, which provides support to future and new teachers and is highly acclaimed through VCEPT assessment, will be featured for extension to partner institutions. Original VCEPT partners with established middle school teacher preparation programs will exert intense effort toward recruiting and retaining prospective teachers, focusing on disadvantaged and underrepresented populations.

George Bass, School of Education, College of William and Mary will assess the project for on-going formative refinements and for its potential as a state and national model.