Ron joins NCTQ with almost 20 years of experience in public education. He started his career as a middle school math teacher in New York City, subsequently serving in several district leadership roles in New York. Ron went on to join the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where he worked on a range of teacher quality policy areas, ultimately serving as the Associate Commissioner for Instructional Support. Most recently Ron was the Assistant Superintendent for the Methuen Public Schools, a small urban school district in Massachusetts serving 7,000 students, where he is most proud of the work he led to improve literacy outcomes for all learners. Ron holds a law degree from Rutgers School of Law, a master’s degree in education from The City College of New York, and an undergraduate degree from Boston College. He has two sons in the Boston Public Schools.
What can California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. teach us about how to diversify the teacher workforce?
Nationally, the diversification of the teacher workforce is slowing compared to the diversification of college-educated adults, but California, Texas, and Washington, D.C. are bucking that trend. Explore what factors contribute to their relatively high rates of teacher diversity and how their policies and practices will likely affect teacher quality.
A strong clinical practice (or student teaching) experience can make a new teacher as effective as one in their second or third year in the classroom—a big gain for those teachers and, more importantly, their students. Providing every aspiring teacher with a strong clinical practice experience requires collaboration from prep programs and districts, often supported by their state.
In this action guide, you can review the six essential focus areas of a strong clinical practice experience; use the self-assessment tool to help you identify where to start; and read case studies from prep programs, school districts, and states that are getting it right.
August 1, 2024
Hannah Putman, Ron Noble, Christie Ellis, Heather Peske
Put me in, coach! How practice plus coaching helps aspiring teachers win
Teachers improve rapidly in their first years in the classroom. New research seeks to identify strategies that can move more of this growth to their pre-service training.
