A group of faculty members from the education department at Texas A&M University-Texarkana was recently honored for winning the Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators Award. The award, given to individuals and groups who make exemplary and noteworthy contributions to quality, innovation, and continuous improvement in teacher preparation, is given by a partnership between The Texas A&M University System Office of Academic Affairs and the Chancellor’s Century Council.
The team from Texarkana, consisting of Laura Currey, Dr. Melba Foster, Dr. LuzMary Rincon, Dr. Debora Shidemantle, and Dr. Sara Lawrence, was presented the award for their tireless work in preparing teachers to be Day 1 ready in today’s increasingly complex school environments.
Recent content exam pass-rate data show A&M-Texarkana with higher rates than ten of the eleven Texas A&M University System educator preparation programs (EPP), with the only exception being the College Station campus. Additionally, new teacher satisfaction rates reported in 2021 show A&M-Texarkana satisfaction rates are 10 percentage points higher (89%) than those reported statewide (79%). Further, based on TEA’s evaluation of 2020-21 data, A&M-Texarkana achieved an ASEP Index score of 97.22, well above the 85% standard and making the university eligible for commendation. ASEP is the Accountability System for Educator Preparation, which uses data and key indicators for accrediting educator preparation programs.
“We are very proud of our education faculty members who were presented this award,” said A&M-Texarkana President Dr. Emily Cutrer. “We all know how important teachers are to our community and to society at large. We teach the teachers, and we take that responsibility seriously. Our goal is to do everything in our power to give new teachers the tools they need to walk into their first classroom and succeed. The hard work put forth by this team goes directly into furthering that goal.”
