Charlotte Named a Member of the League of Teachers InstitutesŪ in the Yale National Initiative to Strengthen Teaching in Public SchoolsŪ

November 2009

Charlotte Team at the Intensive Session, July 2009. (Left to right: National Fellow Amanda M. Stefanski; Ann M. Fox, Associate Professor of English, Davidson College; National Fellow Marva R. Hutchinson; Shelley Rigger, Professor of East Asian Politics, Davidson College; National Fellows Jill C. Deleeuw and Kathryn L. Kinsman; Andy R. Bobyarchick, Associate Professor of Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; National Fellow Nicole M. Schubert; Molly Shaw, Planning Director; Susan Trammell, Associate Professor of Physics and Optical Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; National Fellow Cynthia B. Woolery; Ruth F. Beeston, Professor of Chemistry, Davidson College; and National Fellows Thelma Uzeta and Connie S. Wood.)

The Yale National Initiative announced on October 23, 2009, that the Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) has become the newest member of its League of Teachers Institutes®. CTI, an innovative educational partnership among Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), Davidson College, and UNC Charlotte, joins established Teachers Institutes in New Haven, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Each Institute links one or two institutions of higher education with a school district that serves a significant proportion of students from low-income communities. Institutes focus on the academic preparation of school teachers and on their application in their own classrooms of what they study in the Institute.

"We are impressed," Initiative Director James R. Vivian said, "by the enthusiasm for and commitment to CTI expressed by the teachers, faculty members and administrations of the three partner institutions. CTI promises to become precisely the kind of exemplary Teachers Institute that we hope to develop in each state." Vivian announced CTI's admission into the League during the Initiative's fifth Annual Conference, attended by more than 100 teachers, school district officials and higher education administrators from 11 participating cities and counties. "CTI's membership in the League," Vivian said, "enriches our work nationally and can provide practical assistance to colleagues around the country."

Each Teachers Institute offers seminars on subjects teachers request in the humanities and sciences. In the seminars, university or college faculty members contribute their knowledge of a subject, while the school teachers contribute their expertise in elementary and secondary school pedagogy, their understanding of the students they teach, and their grasp of what works in the classroom. Successful completion of a seminar requires that the teachers write a curriculum unit to be used in their own classroom and to be shared with others in the same school and other schools through both print and electronic publication.

Jeff Joyce, a social studies teacher at Northwest School of the Arts, first learned about the Teachers Institute approach in 2005 when he participated in a national seminar at Yale University. Joyce has since helped lead the effort to implement the Institute model in Charlotte. "This program began with three teachers traveling to Yale for an unparalleled professional development experience. Five years later, teachers, faculty and administrators have worked together to bring that same experience to Charlotte. I commend our higher education partners and the CMS leadership for recognizing the merit of the program and giving teachers an opportunity to build an Institute that serves their needs and treats them as professionals."

CMS Superintendent Peter C. Gorman supports the Teachers Institute approach. "This program works because it helps teachers extend their content knowledge, develop curriculum for their classrooms, and build leadership skills. Our teachers get what they need from this program, because they have an active role in the Institute's decisions and topic choices."

Currently 50 teachers participate in four CTI seminars, and the Institute plans to double its offerings in fall 2010. Seminars take place at Davidson College and UNC Charlotte. Participating teachers, called Fellows, are treated as members of each campus community with identification cards and access to campus facilities.

"There are many reasons for Davidson College to celebrate its involvement with CTI and with the Yale National Initiative," stated Davidson College President Thomas W. Ross. "This program has the potential to improve education in this region. CTI is already bringing communities together. It rejuvenates teachers, who in turn will revitalize their classrooms. It engages public school teachers with the college and university faculty who work right down the road."

UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois added, "UNC Charlotte views the Charlotte Teachers Institute as a primary means by which to fulfill our commitment to forging pre-kindergarten through college partnerships and helping prepare today's students to succeed in an evolving and diverse world. We are pleased to have a Yale National Initiative Teachers Institute in Charlotte."

To learn more about the Charlotte Teachers Institute, visit www.charlotteteachers.org.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is a city-county school district serving more than 137,000 students in grades Pre-K through 12. The district has 176 schools. It has set a goal of educating every student well. The district has been nationally recognized for academic excellence and innovation.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,800 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.

UNC Charlotte is North Carolina's urban research institution. With an enrollment ranking it fourth among the 17 schools in the UNC system, it is the largest public university in the greater Charlotte metropolitan region. A doctoral institution, UNC Charlotte serves the region through applied research, knowledge transfer and engaged community service. For fall 2009, approximately 24,700 students, including 5,300 graduate students, were enrolled in one of the University's comprehensive doctoral, master's or bachelor's programs.

The Yale National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools® is a long-term endeavor to establish exemplary Teachers Institutes in high-need school districts in states throughout the country. The League of Teachers Institutes® is an alliance that advances their work locally and nationally. Teachers Institutes are educational partnerships between universities and school districts designed to strengthen teaching and learning in a community's public schools. Evaluations have shown that the Institute approach enhances teacher quality in the ways known to improve student achievement and encourages participants to remain in teaching in urban schools.

Yale National Initiative®, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute®, and League of Teachers Institutes® are registered trademarks of Yale University.