The acknowledgment for the school’s teacher preparation program follows an extensive review process and site visit earlier this year. The program was first accredited in 1991.
Elon University’s School of Education recently received re-accreditation for its initial and advanced teacher preparation programs based on the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards. NCATE’s performance-based accreditation system for teacher preparation ensures that teacher candidates are prepared to make a difference in P-12 student learning. Elon's program was first accredited in 1991.
“Accreditation is another avenue to document that we are producing excellent candidates at Elon’s School of Education, which has a rich history of preparing graduates to be successful in public, private and charter schools across the country,” said Ann Bullock, dean of the School of Education. “Accreditation provides a framework for us to continually self-assess.”
The Teacher Education Program at Elon prepares teachers to be effective practitioners who are engaged learners, ethical leaders, globally aware citizens and advocates for equity and excellence.
Bullock points to the program’s report card by the state of North Carolina, which in 2015-16 found Elon-educated teachers exceeding state averages in areas such as demonstrating leadership, facilitating learning for their students and their knowledge of the content they teach. In one standard – contributing to the academic success of students — a third of Elon graduates exceeded expected growth, more than double the state average of 16 percent.
The School of Education offers degrees in early childhood education, elementary education, middle grades education, physical education, and special education that also lead to a North Carolina teaching licensure. In collaboration with Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, degrees are offered that also lead to teacher licensure in music, Spanish, and high school English, history, math, biology, or comprehensive science.
Providers accredited based on NCATE standards, as well as those accredited based on the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) Quality Principles, are now served by the single specialized accreditation system for educator preparation in the United States, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
Elon’s next accreditation visit using the CAEP standards is scheduled for Spring 2022. More than 840 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP accreditation system. More information about CAEP is available here.