Master teacher schedule set |
On Board Online • May 27, 2013
By Cathy Woodruff
Senior writer
New York’s first crew of master teachers will be named on Sept. 1, and they will need to hit the ground running as mentors for their colleagues, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher told Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his cabinet.
During a public cabinet meeting on May 20, Zimpher outlined a brisk schedule for rolling out the incentive program, which was recommended last year by Cuomo’s Education Reform Commission and backed with $11 million in this year’s state budget.
Online applications for prospective master teachers will be available on July 1 and will be due on Aug. 1. In-person interviews also will be required for those who ultimately are selected, according to a State University of New York web page about the program.
Initially, Zimpher said, those selected will be teachers of secondary-level math or science, and four colleges will serve as host institutions for four regions: SUNY New Paltz in the Mid-Hudson area; SUNY Plattsburgh in the North Country; SUNY Cortland in Central New York; and Buffalo State College in Western New York.
The chancellor said another six regional hosts will join the program in 2014, and master teachers eventually will represent academic areas throughout the curriculum.
“Our goal would be to maintain this program in perpetuity and get as many disciplines involved as possible,” Zimpher said.
In the first year, approximately 250 master teachers are expected to be selected from the initial four regions. As many as 500 or 600 could be in place when the program is expanded to all 10 regions.
Master teachers must be New York State-certified and must be currently employed as teachers in New York, with a minimum of four years teaching experience. They must be rated “highly effective” under the state’s new evaluation program. At least 60 percent of their course load must be in math or science.
The work of master teachers will include peer mentoring and “intensive content-oriented professional development,” according to the SUNY website. They also will work closely with new teachers and those not yet certified.
Master teachers will receive extra compensation of $15,000 in each year, for a total of $60,000 over four years.