{"id":159943,"date":"2025-06-25T09:24:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T13:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=159943"},"modified":"2025-06-26T11:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:03:10","slug":"wright-states-elementary-education-program-earns-a-rating-for-math-teacher-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2025\/06\/25\/wright-states-elementary-education-program-earns-a-rating-for-math-teacher-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State’s elementary education program earns A+ rating for math teacher training"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Students are eager to share news of getting a good grade in school. Wright State University is no different: The university recently received an A+ for elementary math teacher preparation from the National Council on Teacher Quality.<\/p>\n

Faculty in Wright State\u2019s elementary education P\u20135 program<\/a> are proud of the accomplishment, not only for the program, but also for its students and the Dayton region, where many alumni teach the adults of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State\u2019s undergraduate program is among the best in the nation for devoting sufficient time to math,\u201d said Ron Noble, chief of teacher prep for the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonprofit organization that researches, evaluates and provides guidance on teacher preparation.<\/p>\n

To Dave Herick, instructor of teacher education and program director for elementary education in Wright State\u2019s College of Health, Education and Human Services<\/a>, that assessment adds up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe national council looks at your program, course offerings and content \u2014 in this case math,\u201d he said. \u201cThey make sure you\u2019re covering the areas of math content and, in addition, measure if your program is effectively teaching the pedagogy how to effectively instruct mathematics. They look carefully at how deeply you cover each area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herick said the top grade is significant for a couple of reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne, students can choose any university to study teacher education,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re looking for programs that are accredited with a rating at the highest levels to be sure they\u2019re getting the best training.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother reason is that it sends a message to future employers that Wright State has a high-quality program in teacher education and our candidates graduate well-prepared to bring the wonder, power and beauty of mathematics to student,\u201d said Herick, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science, his teacher certification and a master\u2019s degree in principalship and educational leadership at Wright State.<\/p>\n

Training future teachers to teach math is one aspect of Wright State\u2019s Elementary Education P-5 program. Nationally there is a major focus on how students learn and perform in math and on how universities prepare teachers to teach the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cEducation and elementary education is one of the biggest majors by number at Wright State,\u201d said Colleen Saxen, Ed.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Teacher Education<\/a>. She earned a master\u2019s degree in public health education and a doctorate in organizational studies from Wright State.<\/p>\n

Wright State admits a new group of 60 to 70 elementary education P\u20135 students each spring during their junior year. These students have either completed prerequisite courses at Wright State or transferred from other institutions. Once admitted, students complete three semesters of coursework in the program before graduation. At any given time, approximately 130 students are enrolled in the program in their third and fourth years at Wright State.<\/p>\n

Each incoming group selects five or six student leaders who serve as liaisons between their classmates and the department faculty. These leaders collect feedback and concerns from fellow students and communicate them directly to professors and administrators. They also plan community building events and professional development, which further strengthens the program\u2019s quality and impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a constructive and positive way to solve problems and build community,\u201d Saxen said. \u201cThe relationships students build with each other, faculty and community partners are one of the strongest aspects of our programs. Our student leaders are integral in these endeavors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saxen expressed pride in all of Wright State\u2019s teacher preparation programs, particularly praising Herick\u2019s leadership in fostering a strong sense of community among students and faculty.<\/p>\n

The program also strengthens the broader Dayton region, as many Wright State graduates go on to work as teachers, principals and administrators in local schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State has a very strong anchor in local school districts,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s gratifying to those of us in higher ed that in a class of 30 elementary education majors, each will have a class of 30 students one day. That\u2019s an incredible ripple effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWhatever career young children are going into, a lot of them are interfacing with teachers who graduated from Wright State. That\u2019s a tremendous boon to our entire region.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State\u2019s elementary education P\u20135 program was honored with the top grade for elementary math teacher preparation from the National Council on Teacher Quality. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":159976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,744,725,4896,715,4829,4892],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-leadership-studies-in-education-organizations","category-news","category-rankings","category-teacher-education-education-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159943"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159990,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159943\/revisions\/159990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}