Weac Awards 14 Grants For Pi 34 Proposals
WEAC
members throughout the state will get a clearer understanding of the new
teacher licensure law as a result of work being done in 14 school districts
and UniServs.
Using WEAC Quality School Grants, the 14 districts are sorting through
the red tape to make the law more understandable. They'll also develop
strategic plans for the implementation of PI 34 that can be borrowed and
adapted by other districts.
For example, the Evansville Education Association received $4,000, and
will use the money to gather a small group for three days during the summer
break.
The group of 10 to 12 will include board members, administrators, and
teachers who represent the district's strategic planning, mentoring and
staff development groups, and EEA bargaining team members.
They'll spend the time examining philosophies, assessing the district's
current efforts to promote professional development and identifying goals
and concerns, EEA President Bill Hartje said. "From this, we will
design a format that truly attempts to 'shift the paradigm' in terms of
the way that we do the business of professional growth."
By the conclusion of the meetings, Hartje said he hopes the group will
prepare a document that explains and provides clarification of the PI
34 rules. That document may also give an overview of Wisconsin's Professional
Development Plan (PDP), a critical component of the new law. "We
will strive to have a system that is flexible, meaningful, and research-based,"
Hartje wrote in his proposal. "As well as one that can be transferable
to other districts of various sizes."
PI 34 became law in early 2000, and moves the state to a three-tiered
system of teacher licensure based on demonstrated competence. Under the
law, educators will earn licensure by demonstrating the knowledge, skills
and dispositions identified in the 10 Wisconsin Teacher Standards.
Teachers who currently hold a renewable license that expires between
July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2008, will renew their licenses under present
rules. College students who began their educator training in the fall
of 2000 or after will be the first group issued Initial Educator Licenses
upon their graduation, presumably in May 2004.
For more information about PI 34, visit OnWEAC's Teacher
Licensure resource page, located in the Teaching & Learning area.
The grant recipients are:
| Association | Coordinator | Association President |
| Eau Claire | Fred Poss | Jo Ellen Burke |
| Beaver Dam | Jackie Burke | Gordy Aschebrook |
| Fond du Lac | Carolyn Keener | Hedy Eischeid |
| Greendale | Michael Zeller | John Bly |
| South Milwaukee | Rita Olson | Eric Van Ert |
| WCEA | Matt Friedl | Paul Hambleton |
| Oshkosh | John Sprangers | Len Herricks |
| Evansville HS | Bill Hartje | Bill Hartije |
| SWEA | Suzanne Kahl | Lynette Stansfield |
| Wisconsin Rapids | Pam Hill | Larry Reinke |
| Falls Creek | Pat Kardin | Mary Hummel |
| Menomonee Falls | Nancy Van Caster | Debbie Dillman |
| West Bend | Therese Motzkus | Jeff Wickland |
Posted April 3, 2003