UT System Unveils Expanded Public School Initiative

AUSTIN - A major expansion of programs in the University of Texas System to assist teachers and students in the public schools was approved Thursday by the Board of Regents.

The initiative, "Every Child, Every Advantage," will include new programs for teacher education, professional development for current teachers, and research-based instructional programs in elementary and secondary schools.

Among the programs will be expansion of a UT Austin model for preparing secondary math and science teachers, new online professional development courses for teachers, establishment of a math education research center, and creation of a university-based charter school that uses innovative teaching methods. Institutions from throughout the UT System will participate in various aspects of the initiative.

Combined with already existing "K-16" programs in the UT System, the new initiative will enable the university system "to make a significant and lasting contribution toward enhancing the public schools and expanding educational opportunities for every student in Texas," said Charles Miller, chairman of the Board of Regents.

"The theme of this initiative - 'Every Child, Every Advantage' - speaks volumes about our purpose and intent, which is to marshal the considerable resources of the UT System and its outstanding faculty and researchers in an effort to extend the riches and rewards of education to each and every person in this great state. The initiative tracks very closely a number of key provisions of the new federal education act, and it promises to keep the University of Texas at the forefront of national education reform and advancement."

Several state and national education leaders were on hand for the announcement of the initiative, including Eugene W. Hickok, under secretary of education in the administration of President George W. Bush; Cathy Obriotti Green, a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Jodie Jiles, a Houston business leader and a former Coordinating Board member; and Felipe Alanis, state commissioner of education, who helped develop the initiative when he served as the UT System's assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.

"You are really making educational history in this country," Hickok told the Board of Regents. "I pray that (the initiative) becomes a model for as many other places as possible. The initiative reflects smart, systemic investment in change."

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Note: For more detailed information about the initiative, see the agenda book online.

Related Items:

Presentation to the Board of Regents, May 9, 2002 by Dr. Ed Sharpe, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs: Component Institution Public School Initiatives.

Handout from the UT System Office of Acadmic Affairs: K - 16 Initiative White Paper: Every Child, Every Advantage

Other News and Items:

Regents Approve 7 Graduate Degree Programs Across UT System - May 9, 2002

Facilities Planning and Construction Committee Update on Projects
Presentation by Sid Sanders, UT System

UT System Management and Leadership Development Program
Presentation by Chancellor R. D. Burck, UT System