Our Goals

Mission Statement

The mission of Rockbridge Teacher Education Consortium capitalizes on the strengths of its member institutions: To prepare students for careers in teaching or education-related fields through a comprehensive teacher preparation program that provides a depth and breadth of knowledge, skills, and practice, through coursework and study and fieldwork experiences. Woven throughout our mission are the principles of Leadership, Rigor, Service, Diversity.

Goals

  1. Students will be prepared to begin teaching positions or to pursue related graduate work. Candidates will pass the prescribed Virginia Department of Education assessments.
  2. Students will demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and practices of an effective teacher as they formulate a comprehensive approach to teaching through practical and intellectual experiences, including planning, implementing, and reflecting on lessons that are academically, rigorous, differentiated according to pupil needs, and tied to Virginia state standards.
  3. RTEC will continue to recruit, admit, and retain high-quality teacher preparation candidates, through excellent coursework and instruction, individualized advising, and support in fieldwork.

RTEC History

In developing its teacher education program, RTEC was guided by research on exemplary licensure programs, and RTEC faculty experience with education programs at Mary Baldwin and the University of Virginia. Among the researchers whose work helped shape its program are Linda Darling-Hammond and John Bransford (2005), J. H. Stronge (2007), and Arthur Levine (2006). In particular, RTEC has focused on qualities identified by Arthur Levine in his 2006 report, Educating School Teachers. Levine states that strong teacher education programs:

  • develop excellent teachers based on a clearly defined, shared, and authentic mission that leads to action
  • work at building the conditions that make it possible to implement a shared mission
  • provide a coherent and innovative up-to-date curriculum
  • offer courses that meet high academic standards
  • provide structured field experiences from the beginning of the student's entrance into teacher education to the point that they enter the profession; and,
  • build a close partnership with the local community of schools represented by a spirit of service and hands-on, collaborative co-learning.

In addition, the 10 Model Core Teaching Standards established by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) and the work of Charlotte Danielson in the Framework for Teaching (2022) directly influence the objectives and content of all RTEC education courses. Ultimately, RTEC aligned its mission, fieldwork, and student teaching with the INTASC principles, the requirements of the Virginia Department of Education and the principles set by Charlotte Danielson.

RTEC was granted initial accreditation by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for a period of five years, 2012-2017. In the fall of 2017, RTEC was granted full national accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) for a period of seven years, 2017-2024 and again in Spring 2024 for another period of seven years. Achieving national accreditation by CAEP is a rigorous process that demonstrates RTEC's adherence to the best principles and practices in educator preparation.