Shirley M. Hufstedler, New Namesake of School of Education, to Speak at Graduation
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 (0 Comments)
Posted by: Nicolette Toussaint
Shirley M. Hufstedler,
First US Dept. of Education Secretary
and new Namesake of Alliant Graduate School of Education,
to Speak at San Diego Campus Graduation
 The Honorable Shirley M. Hufstedler, appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be the US Department of Education’s first secretary in 1979, will be the keynote speaker for commencement ceremonies on the San Diego Campus of Alliant International University on Friday, May 29, 2009. This will be the first time that Hufstedler will speak to graduates of a school that bears her name.
The Graduate School of Education at Alliant International University, home of the second largest intern teacher certification program in California, has recently been rechristened the Shirley M. Hufstedler School of Education (HSOE) in recognition of Ms. Hufstedler, whose ideals of educational quality, equality and access parallel those of the innovative school at Alliant. The character of the school might best be captured by a famous quote once uttered by Ms. Hufstedler, who said, “If you play it safe in life, you’ve decided that you don’t want to grow.”
A tireless champion of quality and equality in education, Ms. Hufstedler has been an advocate of social justice and the expansion of opportunity throughout her career, has said that “The role of the teacher remains the highest calling of a free people.”
The Shirley Hufstedler School of Education: Taking Risks and Opening Doors
The Hufstedler School of Education at Alliant International University, a nonprofit, private university with six campuses in California and one in Mexico City, is notable for innovative programs that have challenged the educational establishment to open wide the doors of opportunity. The following are examples.
- The Teacher Education program, TeachersCHOICE, was the first in the state to fully take advantage of legislation that allowed schools of education to offer an accelerated pathway to teacher certification. The Early Completion Option which allows qualified teacher candidates to demonstrate mastery of selected course content through California’s Teaching Foundations Examination, with field mentor supervising and instruction occurring every other week, and required content taught in executive format at selected school district locations. The HSOE’s Early Completion Option (ECO) program has established partnerships with Teach for America, the Oakland Teaching Fellows and teaching internship programs in Los Angeles, San Jose, and other large urban school districts.
- Alliant-HSOE was also one of the first six universities to be approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s Committee (CTCC) on Accreditation to offer the California Teachers of English Learners (CTEL) program last year. “Our CTEL program addresses the growing need for qualified teachers in diverse classrooms by providing teachers the latest strategies and techniques for teaching English Learners,” said Dr. Mary-Ellen Butler-Pascoe, Director of the Program. According to the CTCC, 25 percent of all children enrolled in California public schools are designated as English learners, children attending school in the United States who come from homes where a language other than English is spoken.
- In September of 2007, the Hufstedler School implemented a credential program for teachers of students with mild to moderate disabilities, preparing interns to enter their special education classrooms with a full arsenal of knowledge and best practices. Noting that Teacher Preparation Programs for educating disabled children are closing faster than they are opening while the state-wide need for special education teachers continues to increase, Associate Dean Dr. Trudy Day, one of the program’s developers, said, “Special needs students are approximately 12-15% of the population. And this program expands our services to our ultimate clients, K-12 students.”
A spirit of empowerment and inclusion characterizes the HSOE, which offers degree and credential programs in Teaching, Educational Leadership, Educational Psychology and TESOL in San Diego, Los Angeles, Irvine (Orange County), San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento and Mexico City. Among the innovative programs the school has offered to open doors to those who might otherwise be disenfranchised, here and abroad:
- More than 1,000 teachers have completed the ECO program, and they now touch the lives of more than 70,000 primary and secondary student in California’s traditional and charter schools.
- Building on the long and distinguished history of international education pioneering by the school of education at United States International University, which became Alliant, HSOE has developed innovative teaching projects in Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, and South Africa.
- In addition to teaching, HSOE offers successful masters and doctoral degree programs in educational and school psychology, educational leadership and management, and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL).
More about Shirley M. Hufstedler
In addition to serving as the nation’s first Secretary of Education, Shirley M. Hufstedler has had a distinguished career at the highest levels of legal and public service. She began in private practice in Los Angeles in 1950. From 1960 to 1961, she served as Special Legal Consultant to the Attorney General of California in the complex Colorado River litigation before the US Supreme Court. In 1961, she was appointed Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, a position to which she was elected in 1962. In 1966, she was appointed Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal. President Lyndon Johnson appointed her Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1968, where she served for eleven years before President Jimmy Carter appointed her US Secretary of Education.
In 1981, Hufstedler returned to private life, teaching and practicing law. She was a partner in the firm Hufstedler & Kaus, now merged into Morrison & Foerster. She is the recipient of 20 honorary doctoral degrees from American universities.
Quotes from two recent alumni
Alliant 2008 ECO alumnus, George Bandley, who has been hired in an urban school in Los Angeles, teaches in the kind of situation that typically leads to this high new teacher dropout rate. He is atypical in having recently written this back to his professors at the Hufstedler School of Education:
It is impossible to put into words how great my classes are going. The kids are rising to challenges that they never thought possible, they love being in my class and are doing really great work. I love getting up in the morning and coming to work. These kids amaze me every single day… I would like thank each of you personally for shaping me into the teacher that I am!
Another alumna, DMiralynn Malupa-Kim, who received a MAE in TESOL in 2005, has said:
The hands-on nature of my master’s program in TESOL gave me the opportunity to develop new strategies and hone my skills in teaching language learners. The TESOL faculty were expert researcher-practitioners who enthusiastically supported my efforts and development. The program definitely opened several professional door for me at renowned institutions.
The newly named Hufstedler School of Education at Alliant International University -- its professors, students, alumni, and staff -- are proud to put Shirley M. Hufstedler’s ideals into practice. They are committed to creating new approaches for a nation that, in Ms. Hufstedler’s words, “…can no longer afford to think about education in the traditional preschool, K-12, and higher education divisions. Human education is a continuum from birth through each step of the formal education process and beyond.” The HSOE community embodies that continuum of learning and Shirley M. Hufstedler’s lifelong commitment to expanding access to equal education.
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