Ball State Urban Teaching Program Receives Diversity Award
For its efforts in promoting diversity, Ball State's urban teaching program has earned a national award from one of the country's most prestigious teacher education associations.-á
The university will receive its first American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's Best Practice Award in Support of Diversity at the AACTE's 56th Annual Meeting, which will be held in Chicago Feb. 7-10.-á
The award, sponsored by the AACTE's Committee on Multicultural Education, recognizes colleges and universities that promote diversity in their departments of education. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AACTE specifically honors programs that reflect issues related to culture, language, demographics, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and socioeconomic status, according to an AACTE news release.
Nancy Melser, Ball State assistant professor of elementary education, said she is proud the university is receiving recognition for its efforts in promoting diversity. After being part of the university's elementary education program since 1993, she said she agrees the program has effectively provided a multicultural learning experience for its students.
"I think Ball State's overall quality is excellent," Melser said. "For a university in a small Midwestern town, I think we do a good job teaching about diversity and trying to make sure that our students can have diverse teaching experiences."
Melser said while all of Ball State's teaching programs are doing a good job in promoting diversity, the elementary education Urban Semester Program is the one specifically receiving the AACTE diversity award. The program places junior and senior elementary education majors in Indianapolis urban schools, allowing them to receive hands-on teaching experience as they complete coursework that emphasizes multicultural learning.
Melser said she has been part of the Urban Semester Program since the university started it in 1997. As a joint program between the Teachers College and the College of Sciences and Humanities, the Urban Semester Program has helped students prepare for their future careers, she said.
"It's important because we have to prepare our students for the real world," Melser said. "Current statistics and demographics tell us that the real world is a diverse one."
Roy Weaver, dean of the Teachers College, said he has been at Ball State for 23 years and also admires the Urban Semester Program's emphasis on diversity.
Infusing diversity into the educational process is imperative for all students, he said.
"Over the past decade the university has placed an increasing emphasis on diversifying the campus and recruiting a more diverse faculty," Weaver said. "The students we are preparing as teachers must understand (diversity) issues and how they interact in the classroom to affect learning."
Weaver said in addition to the elementary education Urban Semester Program, Ball State's teaching program also does a good job promoting diversity through its Women's Studies Program, Diversity Policy Institute and Diversity Associates.
Weaver said each program appealed to the AACTE because of its ongoing effort to promote multicultural education on the college campus.
"They are just some of the illustrations of the university's commitment to diversity," Weaver said.
According to its news release, the AACTE is a national voluntary association of colleges and universities with undergraduate or graduate programs that will prepare students to be professional educators. The association's 785-member institutions produce almost 90 percent of the nation's new teachers and other educators each year, the release said.
Ball State has been a member of the AACTE since 1925.
Melser said in order for Ball State to apply for the AACTE award, it had to submit a formal proposal to the association recognizing the students and faculty who were involved with the Urban Semester Program. She said she is glad Ball State will soon join the lists of colleges and universities the AACTE has recognized for diversity throughout the past few years.
Anne Leitze of the Department of Mathematical Sciences and Edna May, principal of T.C. Steele Elementary School, will join Melser at the AACTE's 56th annual meeting Feb. 10 to accept the university's award.
Weaver said he is proud of the urban teaching program's accomplishment and hopes the AACTE award will serve as an incentive for Ball State and other universities to continue emphasizing diversity issues in their programs.
Promoting multiculturalism should be an ongoing goal, he said.
"Finding field-based experiences in diverse settings is necessary for all teacher education students," Weaver said. "And the (AACTE) award attests to the fact that Ball State is on the right track."
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