MAE students have a broad range of opportunities to work and learn in NEMO’s schools and communities, as well working with families during their internships in a variety of districts.
Advisory Board
In order to help the MAE program understand and engage these local and community cultures, we have developed and maintained the MAE Advisory Board (see Section 3c). The Advisory Board provides feedback to the MAE program on our candidate’s preparation and performance, on measures intended to evaluate that performance, and assists with planning for the future of the program. The Board provides direct communication from their school communities which is invaluable to the MAE program.
First-Year Teacher Survey Questionnaire
First-Year Teacher Survey Questionnaire data demonstrates that completers are prepared to collaborate with parents to support student learning, with 88% of 2020-2021 completers indicating that they agreed (58%) or strongly agreed (30%) with that statement and 100% agreed (37%) or strongly agreed (63%) that they were prepared to collaborate with colleagues to support student learning. (Please consult the summary document of the last six years of data from this questionnaire for additional evidence of support from prior years.)
Principal of First-Year Teachers Survey Questionnaire
The principals of 2020-2021 first-year teacher completers further support the claim that Truman completers understand and engage local school and community cultures and foster relationships with families. Ninety-one percent of principals agreed (58%) or strongly agreed (26%) that our completers were prepared to collaborate with parents to support student learning and 88% agreed (46%) or strongly agreed (42%) that they were prepared to collaborate with colleagues to support student learning. (Please consult the summary document of the last six years of data from this questionnaire for additional evidence of support from prior years.)
MAE Completer Survey
The 2017-2018 completers reported 100% were well prepared or prepared to participate in school and community events to support student outcomes. Eighty-three percent of the 2018-2019 completers reported that they were well prepared or prepared on a scale of 1-4 to participate in school and community events to support student outcomes. Seventeen percent of participants ranked themselves less prepared with scores of 1 or 2 on a scale of 1-4.
MEES
Successful performance on the MEES demonstrates that candidates understand and engage local school and community cultures and communicate and foster relationships with caregivers. All Truman MAE completers have not only passed the MEES assessment but the mean scores for every standard have consistently far exceeded both the minimum and higher target scores. Truman intern candidates’ scores on Standard 9 of the MEES assessment, which assesses intern candidates’ capacity to engage in professional collaboration with colleagues and build, maintain, and seek out positive, appropriate relationships with caregivers all in support of student learning, offers specific support that our completers meet this aspect of Standard 2.
Portfolio
Review of portfolio pilot data indicates that the majority of interns effectively communicated with families and enjoyed good working relationships with families, students, colleagues, and community members. An example of clear, professional, and effective communication with families for the MEES Standard 6 portfolio is attached here. Strong collaborations support educator retention and our interns take advantage of collaborating when they can. Here are two examples of that from the portfolios.
School Partnership and Outreach
Based upon informal and anecdotal data from school partners who have hired our completers, we have found that our graduates are highly desirable candidates for employment and frequently once one person has been hired in a particular district, principals will ask for more graduates from Truman. MAE faculty are in the schools often for supervision in ED 394, XXX 608G, and ED 609G so we can see our graduates and know that they work well with families in their communities. For example, during COVID, many of our students experienced a hybrid or virtual placement setting and while the change from face-to-face to virtual was difficult for everyone, our students exhibited such resilience, perseverance, and some even thrived in that setting. Many XXX 608G courses adjusted content to include online and hybrid delivery format content so interns were prepared to enter the schools and meaningfully contribute during their internships. The elementary MAE program created a Virtual Enrichment School for NEMO students that was well-received.
Members of the MAE Advisory Board also serve as a link to our partner districts. Through meetings, e-mail communication, and contact at campus Career Expos they provide timely advice. Especially at the Career Expos they interact with our candidates who are in the pipeline in addition to those who are close to searching for positions, and have been overheard focusing these students on the importance of community understanding to being a successful teacher in their districts.