Francis Marion University - School of Education

FMU Center of Excellence

Goals and Activities: Goal 4

Goal 4. Develop a master’s degree program leading to South Carolina certification as a Teacher of Children of Poverty and is linked with National Board Certification.

The collective experience of numerous educators and researchers since the passage in 1964 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is that children of poverty are as difficult to educate as children with other special needs (i.e., those in the recognized special education population). Whereas special certification is needed for special education teachers, however, this is not the case for teachers who teach children of poverty. The Center will work toward changing this state of affairs.

The vehicle for making this change will be the development of a master’s program that will lead to South Carolina certification as a Teacher of Children of Poverty. To accomplish this goal, the master’s program must be academically sound while at the same time meeting various certification requirements.

Slated to be a strong focus of Year 3 (2006-2007), preliminary work will be initiated in the latter half of the second year of the Center of Excellence grant. Focus groups will be identified in each Partner District, in which teachers, administrators, parents, community, and State Department of Education representatives will discuss issues related to the development and delivery of a new FMU School of Education degree in Teacher Children of Poverty. A timeline for program development will be finalized at the beginning of Year 3, with anticipated program delivery expected to begin Year 5.

Click on the activities below to learn more about the work of the Center of Excellence toward Goal 4.

GOAL 4 – ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Reconstitute the Pre-service Teacher Education Task Force

Activity 2: Work with SC State Department of Education toward state certification requirements.

Activity 3: Work with FMU Foundation to obtain additional funding.

Activity 4: Initiate the master’s degree program.

Activity 5: Work with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)

Activity 6: Work with Pee Dee Region school districts to ensure appropriate compensation for master’s degree graduates.

Activity 7: Develop distance education master’s degree program.