PROFILE: UC College Dean Appointed To New State Board

Lawrence J. Johnson, dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services (CECH), is one of 17 members of a new state Educator Standards Board appointed by the Ohio State Board of Education. Johnson was nominated by the Ohio Board of Regents and is one of three representatives of higher education selected for the new panel, created by Senate Bill 2 that was passed by the General Assembly. The members were appointed July 13 at the monthly meeting of the State Board of Education. Other appointees include teachers, school administrators and a school board representative.

The Educator Standards Board will work with the Ohio Board of Regents to develop and recommend standards for Ohio teachers and principals, renewal licenses for educators, and professional development standards. Senate Bill 2 directs the board to submit recommendations to the State Board of Education within one year after it first convenes.

The new board is also charged under Senate Bill 2 to create standards for teachers and principals for all stages of their careers, in addition to “cultural competency” standards for teachers, which Johnson says are aimed at closing the achievement gap in class and race.

Johnson is an internationally recognized education researcher who is prominently published in books and journals. He has served as dean of CECH at UC since 2000 and is co-chair of a statewide partnership of Ohio’s 50 teacher education programs. The $10 million, five-year statewide Teacher Quality Partnership is studying what it takes to make an outstanding teacher and how that excellence improves the academic performance of schoolchildren in math and English. The Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP), announced in 2001, is following new teachers from their college graduation into their jobs in the classroom, as well as the on-the-job performance of accomplished teachers.

 “There has been a push to develop new state guidelines for teachers and in fact, our Teacher Quality Partnership initiative is examining this issue,” Johnson says. “I’m happy to be on the board, because as we get data from the Teacher Quality Partnership Study, we’ll be able to use the data to examine policy.”