Sharon Wiley already can envision her first classroom.
She says it's a place where all students receive the building blocks they need to become life-long learners.
Wiley will be one step closer to that dream in the fall when she becomes a student teacher at Wares Ferry Elementary School in Montgomery. She says she has to do well.
"Around there, I'm known as 'Kayla's mom,'" said Wiley, whose 8-year-old daughter is a rising third-grader at the school. "Now, I will take on the role of teacher. I have to shine."
Alabama State University recently was ranked by Black Issues in Higher Education in its 14th annual special report on the top 100 degree producers for the 2003-2004 academic year. Following are the results:
Number of bachelor's degrees in education awarded to blacks: 1st
Total number of education degrees awarded to minorities: 11th
Total number of bachelor's degrees awarded in all disciplines among 97 historically black colleges and universities: 24th
Wiley, a senior elementary education major at Alabama State University, praises the institution for preparing her to shape young minds. She's not at all surprised that ASU recently was ranked No. 1 among a group of four-year colleges and universities for the total number of bachelor's degrees awarded to black education majors.
"If you put an ASU education major up against a student at one of the predominately white schools, they are going to be at an equal level or will come out on top," Wiley said. "ASU focuses on preparing highly qualified teachers."
ASU's high mark appears in the June edition of Black Issues in Higher Education. For 14 years, the chronicle has included a list of Title IV-eligible colleges and ranked them by the number of bachelor's degrees, including education, that are granted to minorities.
The university conferred 164 education degrees in the 2003-2004 year, according to a analysis by the U.S. Department of Education. Alabama A&M University ranked 7th. The University of West Alabama, Oakwood College, Auburn University Montgomery, Miles College and the University of Alabama at Birmingham rounded out the top 50.
"It's nice to know that we are No. 1. But I would rather our Professional Education Personnel Evaluation (PEPE) score had be an A rather than a B," said Pete Macchia, dean of the College of Education, ASU's oldest program of study. "The numbers mean that we are meeting our mission. But our mission is also to provide quality."
Macchia is referring to data released recently by the Alabama Department of Education that gave ASU an overall grade of a B for preparing highly qualified teachers to enter the state's K-12 public classrooms. The university received an F on the report card the previous two years.
The annual accountability profiles are based on performance evaluations by principals and other supervisors of first-year teachers straight out of college.
Wiley says the marks are unfair. She believes ASU's showing in Black Issues in Higher Education and the fact that the College of Education was reaccredited last year by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education shows just the opposite.
"Whenever I see the results of those (state) report cards, it makes me feel bad," Wiley said. "I know I keep my grade point average up and so do other students who are in the program. ASU is not just handing out these grades."
Macchia said it's important to note that the report cards don't reflect all graduates of the program. Only eight of 24 early childhood graduates were evaluated. Six of the eight achieved scores that were at or exceeded evaluation benchmarks.
Because two students did not meet those standards, the whole program received a failing grade. That brought the institutions overall score down.
But Macchia says the evaluation system is better than it was before. He said the department is in the process of tracking graduates who were not scored.
"We want to find out their progress so we know how to improve the program for future ASU students. We have to have quality and quantity and make sure we are not just a mill," Macchia said. " The College of Education wants to continue to produce high quality teachers that serve not only the state of Alabama but the entire country."
Last week, Wiley and fellow senior elementary education major Patrick Lawrence were working to continue that tradition in Dan Lucas's language arts class. The group had a lively debate about whether handwriting, particularly legibility, was a dying art form of if it still should be emphasized in the schools.
"Every group I have had has been cooperative and productive," Lucas said. "They do what they need to do to grow into good teachers. They have a love for education."
Lawrence says that's why it is no accident that ASU typically is among schools that award the highest numbers of bachelor's degrees to aspiring black educators. His sixth-grade teacher helped him reach his full potential as a student. Now, he wants to do the same.
"Because Alabama State is a historically black college. Some people are under the impression that it's not a top-notch school," Lawrence said. "A lot of times, people think they are above us but they are not. We are getting the tools we need to prepare future generations."
Wiley echoed those remarks. As a mom and future teacher, she wants to know that teachers are highly qualified and that all children receive an equal education.
"At Alabama State University, I have gotten a feel for everything," Wiley said. "I know what I need to do to be successful in the classroom."
*Photo includes Sharon Wiley, left, and Sandra Staley listening as their classmates deliver presentations in their Teaching Science for Elementary School class Thursday evening at Alabama State University.
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Thursday, June 30th 2005 at 11:14AM
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