The Louisiana Department of Education increased the grade of Louisiana’s efforts to improve teacher quality from a C to a C+ in 2002; however, state leaders are making efforts to improve these numbers.
“The quality of teachers is determined by the state of Louisiana finding ways to keep them here,” said Patricia D. Exner, assistant dean for the College of Education.
In a state where Gov. Mike Foster has brought education to the forefront, there have been more attempts to produce teachers with masters’ degrees and valuable experience. The University’s College of Education offers a program to do just that.
The Holmes Program offers a 15-month combination of curriculum and internships for students wanting to receive master’s degrees in K-12 education in art, foreign language or kinesiology, and secondary school teaching certification in English, mathematics, science or social studies.
Ashley Carter, who graduates in May with her master’s degree in K-12 education, said the program is looking for people “serious about being committed educators.” She completed her undergraduate curriculum in three years, so she will have her master’s degree in a total of four years.
To provide an incentive for Holmes Program students to stay in Louisiana, the Gordon A. and Mary Cain Fellowship offers a $15,000 stipend, an out-of-state fee waiver and free tuition to qualified applicants. In turn, those who receive the fellowship must teach in a Louisiana public school for two years after graduation.
The Cain Fellowship has been able to support 25 to 30 students each year in a program with only about 50 students, which gives good teachers an incentive to stay in Louisiana, Exner said.
The problem for Louisiana is that Holmes Program students, once they complete the rigorous program, are very attractive to schools outside Louisiana who have more to offer the new teachers, Exner said.
“During the Foster administration, there has been an intensive effort to integrate Pre-K through [12th grade] with higher education to make a seamless system,” Exner said. “It brought all different players to one table. The governor’s education program has supported people directly involved in making changes.”
Jennifer Blanchard, an adviser for the College of Education and Holmes Program graduate, said people who have never taught or been an education major can enter into the Holmes Program. Sometimes students have undergraduate degrees in the areas they want to teach, but there are no education classes required as prerequisites, she said.
An applicant must meet requirements to enter into the University’s graduate school and must have a 3.0 grade point average, Blanchard said.
Although the program has been around since the early 1990s, there are not many people enrolled in the program. Exner suspected the enrollment would increase if there were more fellowships offered.
Besides the Cain Fellowship, the Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund is a grant offered by the Louisiana Board of Regents for excellence in mathematics and science. Exner said LEQSF fellowships open more available space for Cain Fellowship recipients.
The program is selective and intensive, so it “takes a strong student to keep up with the program,” Exner said.
There are only 22 people in Carter’s classes. She said she enjoys small classes because she has been in the same classes with the same people for two years.
“It is unique because students go in small groups,” Blanchard said. They work closely with each other, with Holmes faculty members and with internship supervisors at the schools.
They train Holmes students to be “teacher leaders — to make positive changes,” she said.
Carter would recommend the program to anyone in elementary education because once teachers start to teach, their hectic schedules would not allow them much time to go back to get their master’s degree. Plus, the program has given her confidence by increasing her knowledge in theory and professionalism.
Exner said being a teacher soon will become competitive with other jobs through programs like the Holmes program because high quality teachers with master’s degrees are being offered several thousand dollars extra because of their education.
“Especially with the Cain’s program offering, it helps to keep good teachers in Louisiana,” said Carter, a Cain’s Fellowship recipient. However, she said, “it’s tempting to leave.”