The Daily Report Card: Student Teachers Need Mentors, State School Board Member Out, ISTA In Court

Many Student Teachers Paired With Ineffective Mentors, Study Finds – U.S. News & World Report “Last week, the National Council on Teacher Quality released a study reporting that many of the nearly 200,000 new teaching candidates each year were paired with ineffective mentors during their student teaching experience… Among the report’s findings: There were not enough qualified teachers willing to mentor student teachers; many teachers’ colleges did not spend enough time placing student teachers with effective mentors; and institutions depend too much on school districts to help place student teachers.” (U.S. News & World Report)

State school board member in probe resigns – The Journal Gazette “A state Board of Education member resigned last week amid a Purdue University investigation into whether she plagiarized parts of her doctoral dissertation. Gwendolyn Griffith Adell submitted a resignation letter last week effective immediately, saying she was stepping down for personal and family reasons.” (journalgazette.net)

ISTA seeks to block teacher contract forms – Indianapolis Star Worried that school districts can shorten or lengthen a teacher’s workday or work-week at will, the ISTA went to court Tuesday to stop new teacher contract forms for the 2011-12 school year from ever being used. (Indianapolis Star)