State Leader in Teacher Education
With a commitment to producing prepared and caring educators tracing back 87 years, the University of La Verne’s teacher education program can point to countless graduates who have been honored as being among the best in their profession.
Thanks to a new ranking, those La Verne graduates can now proudly refer to their alma mater as one of the state’s best.
The Online College Database’s inaugural Top Colleges in California: Shaping the Next Generation ranking rates the La Verne as one of the state’s top colleges for teacher education. The list highlights those post-secondary institutions statewide that produced the most education and teaching professionals in 2012.
“We work hard to be current in the latest methods and ideas. We look to be at the forefront of the best practices in preparing teachers,” said Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Redman, holder of the LaFetra Family Endowed Chair for Excellence in Teaching and Service at La Verne. “Even years ago, when California made the first revisions to its statewide standards in 30 years, we were one of the early adopters, which meant going to Sacramento and participating in all the discussions. That’s what it means to be a leader.”
The College Database is considered the most current and comprehensive source of U.S. college and university data. According to founder and CEO Doug Jones, the idea behind the ranking was to spotlight those institutions that help the entire educational system by preparing quality teachers.
“Many colleges and universities have tremendous teacher education programs,” said Jones. “But which ones are producing the most young educators today? We wanted to identify the colleges making the largest impact on our students.”
The ranking lists La Verne 16th among the 73 colleges and universities determined by The Online College Database to offer the very best education degrees in California. The evaluations were based on reputation, facilities and academic opportunities of those institutions meeting a core criteria – fully accredited; public or private non-profit institutions (no for-profit schools); four-year colleges; and at least 10 graduates from education or teaching disciplines in 2012.
La Verne’s teacher education program had its beginnings in 1927 when it first offered elementary and junior high school credentials. Today it is part of the University’s LaFetra College of Education, which offers undergraduate, credential, masters, and doctoral programs that provide students the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed by professional educators.
“Really, the foundation of our teacher education program is that we care about the students we are preparing to become teachers. And as they go out into the world, they show that same care for the students they teach,” said Redman, who has been in the teaching field since 1960 and who served as director of La Verne’s teacher education program for more than 20 years.
“Even in national studies, we always compare very well with the best when it comes to looking at the students we’ve just graduated and who are out there teaching. They rate highly and they receive top marks from their supervisors.”
La Verne’s LaFetra College of Education is accredited by the California Commissions on Teacher Credentialing and the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
