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Photo by Mark Berndt
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A classroom success story
by Phil HAmpton
UCLA Today
When Fernando Avila began teaching advanced placement calculus at Locke High in 2003, none of his 16 students passed the final exam to earn college credit. A year later, six of 18 students passed, the highest number in five years at Locke and more than in the previous five years combined.
Avila attributes the improvement to the training he received in UCLA’s Teacher Education Program (TEP), which emphasizes flexibility in teaching techniques to meet the needs of individual students.
“My goal with my classes is to get students to teach each other, which produces a much higher degree of learning,” said Avila, who completed TEP in 2001. “The program taught me different methods to get my students to interact with each other.”
Avila is among the thousands of teachers who have seen firsthand how the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and its Center X have helped to improve public education in the Los Angeles region over the past 10 years.
In 1995, the graduate school formed Center X as an umbrella organization to enhance public education at the region’s urban schools through teacher education and professional development, leadership training for principals and school administrators, and school reform research.
Since then, Center X has:
* Provided urban schools with more than 1,000 teachers, each trained in special skills and given extra support by their peers and mentors to excel in the lower-performing urban schools where qualified teachers are most in demand. Last year, UCLA, through Center X, provided more credentialed teachers to LAUSD than any other public university in the state.
* Offered subject-specific professional development training to more than 20,000 teachers in mathematics, reading, writing and history.
* Trained 168 education leaders who earned a master’s of education and preliminary administrative services credential through the Principal Leadership Institute to become principals or school district administrators.
“We focus on imbuing teachers, principals and administrators with the vision, commitment and skills needed to transform urban education,” said Aimée Dorr, dean of the graduate school. “We’re very proud of our contributions to creating school environments in which every child receives high-quality education and succeeds as a learner.”
As of press time, Center X was planning a 10-year anniversary celebration at Royce Hall on Oct. 8. Among those scheduled to attend was Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villar-aigosa, as well as Center X-trained teachers, principals, administrators and students at schools where they work.
Research shows that the Center X philosophy of providing educators with research-based training, as well as extra peer and mentor support, works. For example, 86% of TEP-trained teachers stay in the job beyond five years, far greater than the national average.
Statistics also show that second-grade student scores on standardized math tests increased significantly in 2002 after Center X began offering teachers a math instruction program known as LUCIMATH. Since 2001, approximately two of every three LAUSD K-2 teachers have completed the program.
“We’re clearly making a difference,” said Jody Z. Priselac, executive director of Center X, who also directs the mathematics continuing education program. “We intend to continue building on our successes to help ensure equality in education for public school students in Los Angeles.” |
