Teach Ascension Academy, Ascension Parish School Board’s (APSB) teacher preparation provider, has undergone significant transformation following its engagement with the review process conducted by Etio as part of the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) Teacher Preparation Provider review program. In this article, we hear from APSB’s Instructional Supervisor of TAP and Teacher Development, Mary Daze, and explore the positive impacts realised by the academy as a result of the reviews, focusing on how feedback has been used to strengthen its teacher preparation programme.
Mary Daze, Instructional Supervisor of TAP and Teacher Development, shared, “Our programme is so much stronger based off of that feedback… we understood the evidence and accepted the feedback – it wasn’t something we wished to debate – it simply became the foundation for further improvement.”
The Teacher Preparation Provider (TPP) review program is a comprehensive system to evaluate and hold teacher preparation programs accountable. The program ensures alignment with state education priorities and fosters continuous improvement in teacher readiness to ensure every aspiring teacher is ready for the realities of today’s schools. The goals of the program are:
The teacher preparation quality rating is based on three domains:
Ascension Parish School Board’s (APSB) Teach Ascension Academy first underwent its TPP review with Etio (then Class Measures) in 2018, amidst a period of leadership changes. That initial review provided a baseline and revealed a number of areas for improvement, and since that time the academy has worked hard to revamp its program, embracing the feedback and restructuring its approach to teacher prep.
Between 2018 and 2020 the academy had made considerable efforts to enhance its programme. However, the scores received in the 2020 review were not as high as anticipated. Despite this, Mary Daze notes that the feedback was invaluable: "Naturally we weren't as pleased with our scores as we would have wished to be, given the work and structures we had put in place during the previous two years, but we did the work and saw remarkable improvement in our most recent review of the program.”
The academy's commitment to using feedback as a tool for growth was evident in their recent review. They adopted a continuous improvement mindset, taking each piece of feedback seriously and implementing necessary changes. This proactive approach led to substantive improvements in their teacher preparation programme.
The 2024 review marked a turning point - the academy made significant strides in several key areas. In particular, Mary Daze highlights the impact of their revamped approach to recruitment and retention based on the feedback from Domains One and Four: "We built up our programme and ramped up our hiring process to the point where we are turning people away. We want all our candidates to be successful; we don't want to just flood our programme with a bunch of candidates and they're not successful," she explains. So, the academy is better able to support its candidates effectively, but they are also seeing a higher quality of candidates too.
The academy's programme is designed to place all their candidates in high-needs areas. So, although the review process doesn’t necessarily impact this state goal, Mary recognises how the process has helped the academy better align its goals and approaches to teacher prep with the needs of schools in those high-needs areas. In fact, the confidence placed in the academy by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) enabled them to obtain certification for six new programs in a single year.
The structured support provided by the academy has been instrumental in preparing its candidates for the demands of the classroom. In Mary’s words, “Each of our teachers really hit the ground running as a teacher of record, but they can still have support if that is deemed necessary.”
This reputation for providing high-quality teacher preparation has grown significantly. "Our principles want us," says Mary Daze, emphasising the demand for the academy’s program. “They know we offer high quality teacher preparation; our own expectations are high, and we offer effective ongoing support, which differs from other alt-cert programs whereby the onus for support might be on the on-campus instructional leader.”
Ascension Parish School Board’s (APSB) Teach Ascension Academy has been on a transformative journey underpinned by the evidence and feedback from the Teacher Preparation Provider reviews. By embracing the process and committing to continuous improvement, the academy has strengthened its teacher preparation programme and enhanced its reputation for equipping the state’s teachers to meet the needs of high-need schools.