November 2013 State Board Report

November's State Board of Education Work Session & Meeting was relatively brief. The Board started their session with a presentation from 2013 Nebraska Teacher of the Year Angela Mosier, of Westside. Mosier shared her experiences with the room -- which happened to be packed with pre-service teachers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln -- to a standing ovation at the conclusion of her presentation.

As the Board moved on to its discussion agenda, President Patricia Timm reported that the Commissioner search committee is moving forward with eight finalists. She noted that the field of applicants was very strong, and they were very pleased with the applicant pool. Timm reminded members that a special meeting of the Board will be held after the December meeting for the final interviews.

The Board received an update on the development of Fine Arts Standards, which are in the design phase. Funding from the Nebraska Arts Council has helped NDE staff facilitate workshops utilizing the expertise of K-16 instructors and local artists in Visual Arts, Music, Theatre, Dance, and Media Arts. Of special note, NDE Arts Specialist Debbie Defrain noted, is that Nebraska is poised to be on the leading edge nationally in including Media Arts. The Board was reminded that these standards are not an assessed field, but that they will serve as valuable guidance to districts in their integration of arts into the curriculum. The draft for public & school input will be released in December.

The Board also heard from Sharon Katt and Kevin Peters on proposed changes to Rule 21, which address elevation of standards for endorsements in various areas of teacher and administrative certification. As an example, Katt highlighted the need for specialists such as coaches to have additional training in dealing with concussions. Many other changes relate to the need to clarify certification for teachers teaching dual credit/dual enrollment courses, a growing need in Career and Technical Education.

In addition to the changes in endorsements, Katt and Peters also addressed the ongoing work in adopting content-area testing for pre-service teachers and administrators. As this rule change develops, Katt reported that the institutions of higher education in Nebraska have been largely supportive of the process.

Friday's public comment period included testimony from several constituents, speaking to standards and truancy laws.

The Board will convene again Dec. 5-6.