MACCE: MNEA report from the April 3, 2023 meeting

Missouri Advisory Council of Certification for Educators
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

MNEA representatives on MACCE: Paul Aubrey (North Kansas City NEA), Lisa Baldwin (North Kansas City NEA), Francine Hill (Francis Howell NEA), Jacqueline McGill (Hazelwood NEA), Cary Sikes (Springfield NEA), and Dr. Alexander Tai (Columbia MNEA).

 

Renewals/Vacancies Update

Kim Miller of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education gave an update on the status of MACCE member vacancies and renewals for next school year. MNEA will have two renewals and no vacant seats for the coming year. 

Math Subcommittee Report

Beth Kania-Gosche of Missouri S&T reported on the Math certification competencies subcommittee work. 

A subcommittee of MACEE is beginning to review specific content area competencies for teacher certification. These competencies are what Educator Preparation Programs (EPP) use to prepare teachers for certification. MACCE members listened to input from educators in their areas and there was agreement that the competencies need updating. The first content area that the subcommittee reviewed was secondary Math. 

The recommendation from the subcommittee was as follows: “The EPP will select 33 hours of math and related content to include algebra, geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus, and statistics.” The subcommittee asserts that this allows flexibility for EPPs to select courses and expand to other courses as they see fit. How the competencies are right now lock Math EPP students into required courses that may not be necessary. The subcommittee is looking to expand this work to more content areas. 

Gifted Education Certificate

Margery Tanner of DESE reported on Gifted Educator Certification Requirements.

The gifted education certificate requirements have not been reviewed and updated for decades and DESE is looking to start this work. Margery Tanner opened it up to MACCE members to be involved in this work and to recommend Gifted Educators in their districts. 

Superintendent Recommendation for Initial Certificate 
Margery Tanner of DESE reported on a recent rule pass that allows superintendents to recommend candidates for initial certificates. 

There has been a new updated rule that allows superintendents to recommend candidates for initial certification as an alternative option for those who have completed a traditional route to certification but are unable to pass the final designated assessment test. This new option was a possibility because of the passage of SB 681 (RSMo 168.021) in August 2022. This alternative option could potentially impact close to 1,000 teacher candidates (this figure was generated using pre-pandemic numbers). 

The discussion from MACCE resulted in concerns surrounding the exam and what, if any, itemized report the test-takers get to better prepare for the next attempt. The report that test takers currently receive is very broad and not very specific to “ensure the integrity of the exam.” DESE will be looking at new assessment contracts for educator certification and two members of MACCE will be present on the Missouri Technical Assistance Committee who will help select that testing company. The major concern expressed by MACCE from this conversation was that MACCE had not heard an update on this until April 2023 though it had been in effect since August. 

Educator Preparation  Updates 

Daryl Firdley, DESE Educator Preparation Coordinator, updated the Council. 

Literacy Standards

Similar to the update that Dr. Fridley delivered to the State Board in January 2023 and MACCE in February 2023, Fridley updated MACCE on the changes to literacy competencies in various certification areas due to the recent passage of Senate Bill 681. These changes must be made in Rules in the Code of State Regulations along with Missouri Standards for the Preparation of Educators (MoSPE). The MoSPE changes will happen first followed by rule changes due to the length of time in protocols for each. Any updates to rules that DESE submits can be found here

Removal of Entrance Exam

The Omnibus Education Bill (HB 497) in the legislature this session includes a provision that removes the entrance exam requirement for Educator Preparation Programs (EPP). The association supports the removal of this exam as it can serve as a gatekeeper to the profession and there is no evidence that an entrance exam produces higher quality educators. 

Apprenticeships 

A similar report that was given in February on Registered Teacher Apprenticeships was given again in April. There was further emphasis on the route to certification with these apprenticeships. There is also the possibility of adding Registered Youth Apprenticeships to this for high school students who want to be teachers. MACCE asked if LEAs could use recruitment or Grow Your Own funding to start Registered Youth Apprenticeships and DESE tentatively said yes but would need to know more specifics for individual LEAs. More information regarding Teacher Apprenticeships in Missouri can be found here

Meeting Dates for School Year 2023-2024 

Kezia Bohanon, MSTA Representative and MACCE Chair. 

MACCE elected to have meetings in-person for the first meeting of next school year. If a meeting changes to virtual, the Council will vote on that option. 

The next MACCE meeting will be held in September 2023; final details of the schedule will be released later. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Samantha Hayes or Rebeka McIntosh at 800-392-0236 or by emailing Samantha.Hayes@mnea.org or Rebeka.McIntosh@mnea.org.

Information about MACCE can be found here at the DESE website. Past MACCE meeting reports from MNEA can be found here.

Respectfully submitted,
Rebeka McIntosh, MNEA vice president                                    Rebeka.McIntosh@mnea.org
Samantha Hayes, MNEA teaching and learning director             Samantha.Hayes@mnea.org