Cerritos College is developing a secondary school mathematics and science teacher preparation program called Teaching Secondary School Scholar Partnership (TS3P). TS3P is based on an existing, highly successful partnership between Cerritos College and California State University-Long Beach (CSULB) that prepares future elementary school teachers through a streamlined program that allows the completion of a baccalaureate degree, student teaching, and a multiple subject teaching credential in just five years. TS3P builds on this foundation by creating a secondary school teacher development program. The need for such a program is particularly acute given the recent changes in state credentialing and an increased emphasis on technological literacy, as well as the ongoing dearth of mathematics and science-qualified teachers in the high school classrooms of our high-poverty, multicultural service area. Qualified mathematics and science teachers are vital to providing expanded educational opportunities not only within the classroom, but also as a necessary element in preparing students adequately for today's technically sophisticated workplace.
The overall project goal is to increase the number of secondary school teachers who have single subject credentials in mathematics or the sciences. To accomplish this goal, seven objectives are being implemented: 1) recruitment; 2) curriculum development, piloting, and pathway development; 3) fieldwork; 4) mentoring; 5) counseling and advising; 6) professional development; and 7) university transfer. Evaluation activities support this project's goal of educational reform.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in its creation of a new model for secondary teacher development, one that creates a seamless educational experience for prospective high school math and science teachers transitioning from a two-year to a four-year institution without "transfer shock." This collaboration is developing a model of intersegmental articulation to benefit students and meet the needs for qualified math and science teachers in regional high schools. This model has broader impacts beyond merely meeting an identified regional need. Other institutions nationwide will benefit from the experience of these two institutions and will be able to adopt the model piloted in this proposed project to their own needs and own developing partnerships.
