By Dean of the College of Education Marquita Grenot-Scheyer has joined a new education standards board that accredits college programs across the nation.
As a member of the first board of directors, Grenot-Scheyer has oversight of all policies for the new Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and its budget.
She said she hopes to take her experiences from the CAEP and apply them in preparing Cal State Long Beach students studying to become educators.
Grenot-Scheyer became part of the board this fall to represent the Cal State University through her new position.
The CAEP grants recognition to college programs based on how well they teach students and adhere to educational standards.
The CAEP aims to prepare future educators to become teachers, principals and school counselors in the K-12 systems, according to Grenot-Scheyer. The council is a combination of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC).
“It makes sense to bring these two accreditors together into one,” Grenot-Scheyer, who was a member of the NCATE before it became the CAEP, said. “They both share values and share visions of how we want education candidates to be prepared.”
In her new position, Grenot-Scheyer is responsible for helping the board create new standards and implement them into educator’s learning. Her responsibilities with the council are high, but Grenot-Scheyer said she has a higher purpose in mind.
“We think that national accreditation is a bar to reach and peer evaluation is good, but the heart of it is to assess data to enforce our practices and keep the cycle of standards,” Grenot-Scheyer said.
Grenot-Scheyer became the dean of the College of Education in 2008. She has a master’s degree from CSULA in Education, and a doctoral degree in Special Education from UCLA.
She said she is honored to hold a position with the CAEP because it represents not only CSULB but also the entire CSU educator preparation system.
Grenot-Scheyer said that the CSU’s representation is important to the CAEP because California prepares one of every 12 teachers in the nation, according to the 2013 College of Education Convocation.
The CAEP determines the accreditation of programs by gathering data on student performance as well as integrating new educational standards. According to the California Department of Education, some developing standards include a higher diversity of K-12 education, with an emphasis on social studies and science instead of primarily mathematics and literature.
Grenot-Scheyer was one of three chosen from 48 different members on last year’s national standards commission, which set up the basis for new rigorous education standards to take place. However, Grenot-Scheyer said students at CSULB most likely will not see the standards take effect for a few years.
