HIGHLIGHTS
- A weak teacher pipeline threatens student success in New Orleans.
- Nontraditional educator preparation programs (EPPs) aim to improve and expand enrollment.
- NOLA SEED’s partnerships create pathways to quality EPPs.
PROJECT
NOLA SEED, Improve and expand nontraditional educator pathways
The Challenge
After Hurricane Katrina, education reforms in New Orleans led the percentage of students on grade level to more than double between 2007 and 2011. The reason: an influx of new teachers who enrolled in non-traditional Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs). But by 2018, EPP enrollment had declined, and student performance stagnated or declined.
The New Orleans Supporting Effective Educator Development project (NOLA SEED), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, wants to address the teacher shortage by expanding and improving the city’s best nontraditional EPPs and investing in Grown Your Own (GYO) Aspiring Educators Pathways (AEP).
NOLA SEED established a coalition of partners to create a system of pathways to high-quality EPPs. The partners are Tulane University, TNTP teachNOLA, the Norman C. Francis Teacher Residency at Xavier University, Reach University, and NSNO Grow Your Own program.
The Approach
Abt Global is evaluating the NOLA SEED project to assess the partners’ progress in implementing the project as intended. The evaluation will also assess if partners and NOLA SEED are meeting performance objectives. The implementation evaluation focuses on recruitment and retention, course work, mentoring, and coaching.
The Results
Interim findings of the implementation evaluation based on site visits showed:
- Partners are implementing recruitment strategies as planned
- Partners described integrating responsive teaching and social emotional learning practices in their coursework, as intended
- School-based mentors are in place
- All partners are conducting observation and feedback cycles