Power of SUNY

Chancellor Zimpher Brings Critical Reforms for Teacher Education to New York State

On Nov. 16, 2010, SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other national education leaders, announced the findings of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning, convened by NCATE – The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. And eight states, including New York, agreed to implement the panel's recommendations.

Chancellor Zimpher served as co-chair of the panel, with Colorado Commissioner of Education Dwight Jones.

"This was an historic coming together of major stakeholders to make excellent programs the norm in teacher education," said Chancellor Zimpher. "Teaching, like medicine, is a profession of practice. Making clinical preparation the centerpiece of teacher education will transform the way we prepare teachers."

This new vision of preparation will require the development of partnerships with school districts in which teacher education becomes a shared responsibility between P-12 schools and higher education. The changes will also require state higher education officials, governors, and state education commissioners to remove policy barriers and create policy supports for the new vision of teacher education.

For more information, see the SUNY Press Release and Final Report.