USC Teacher-Training College to Offer Post-Grad Professional Support

Amid a nationwide debate over teacher quality, USC's teacher-training college Thursday announced it will now extend post-graduate professional support to all of its estimated 25,000 alumni.

Officials of the 103-year-old USC Rossier School of Education said their graduates, many now teaching K-12 grade levels at schools around the country, will get access to a phone hotline and email to solicit advice on how to improve their teaching skills.

"We think this is an innovative initiative to address what is a nationwide issue about teacher ed," Rossier dean Karen Symms Gallagher said.

Under what the school is calling the "USC Rossier Commitment," graduates facing professional challenges will be directed to a so-called "rapid-response team," a cadre of USC faculty tasked with identifying problems and drawing up plans for improvement.

In some cases, faculty may visit school sites to better understand their graduates' work and on-the-job environment.

Gallagher also called on other teacher universities and colleges to make a similar pledge.

"I challenge other colleges and universities to join us and take responsibility for the quality of their graduates and America's teachers," Gallagher said.

"As the country focuses on effective teaching to improve student outcomes, we are doing our part to support our graduates in evolving their practice and being the most impactful teachers they can be," she said.

USC's announcement came as school districts consider methods for evaluating teacher performance and as teachers nationwide adjust to a new set of education standards called Common Core, which institutes new curriculum guidelines as well as sets new learning goals and expectations for students and their teachers.

It also came as teaching colleges have come under fire from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan for the quality of their programs and their ability to produce competent teachers.

USC officials say Rossier may be the first teachers' college in the country to start a program that offers dedicated support to their graduates as they engage in their careers. USC spokeswoman Barbara Goen said they do not yet know how many graduates will take advantage of the program and the variety of questions and challenges that will be brought up.

Gallagher said the implementation of their commitment "will be complex, and that questions and ideas will be uncovered along the way."

"But we also recognize that we must stand behind our graduates and their work," she said. "We plan to share what we learn through this effort and continue this work over time to help us and others advance the teaching field."

In addition to teachers, Rossier also trains counselors, student services professionals and marriage and family therapists, all of whom are eligible for the post-graduate professional support.