PEF and the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation Introduce First Cohort of Osborne Fellows in Groundbreaking Urban Master's Degree Program
By Beverly Carroll
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Thanks to a $2 million commitment – $1.5 million from the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation matched by a half million raised by the Public Education Foundation – fifteen teachers will soon be named as Osborne Fellows. The fifteen currently serve in the nine high-priority elementary schools involved in the Benwood Initiative. As an Osborne Fellow, the teachers will be offered a full scholarship to study in a specialized master’s degree program being developed by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
“Professional development is the best way to ensure student achievement and to promote teacher retention in the areas where experienced teachers are in the highest demand,” said PEF President, Dan Challener. “Our goals for the Osborne Initiative are to offer already good teachers new skills pertinent to student learning in urban schools, and thus enhance the chances that all their students will be reading and performing at or above grade level.”
“The Osborne Fellows program is one of only a very few master’s degrees in the nation designed specifically for urban educators,” said Mary Tanner, Dean of the College of Education at UTC. “The scholarship aspect and the highly selective screening process make it unique. Through the specialized curriculum being developed, we’re empowering teachers with the skills they need to reach our high priority students. ”
Consisting of 36 hours of integrated coursework over a two-year period, classes will be centered on five themes: Socio-Cultural Context of Urban Education; Classroom Management & Instructional Techniques; Assessment, Action Research, & Evaluation; Reading and Balanced Literacy; and Problem-Based Field Practicum.
“Research points to a direct correlation between student achievement and highly trained educators,” said Leslie Graitcer, Osborne Fellows Coordinator. “Over the next five years through the Osborne Fellows Project, we will be supporting up to 100 already outstanding Hamilton County teachers as they seek their master’s degrees. This will result in a critical mass of highly skilled teachers ready for the challenges that lie ahead.”
To qualify for the program, teachers must have taught at one of the high-priority Benwood schools for at least two years and they then make a four-year commitment to stay after they earn their degrees. There also is a rigorous portfolio and interview selection process. According to Graitcer, this goes above and beyond regular requirements and is a testament to the determination of these educators to help their students achieve.
Schools involved in PEF’s Benwood Initiative are Calvin Donaldson, Clifton Hills, East Lake, East Side, Hardy, Hillcrest, Howard, Orchard Knob, and Woodmore.