April 1, 1997 Contact Pauline Austin (541) 346-3129 EUGENE--Want to teach in middle school or high school? You can now earn your teaching credential at the only nationally ranked college of education in Oregon and be first in line to teach in the classrooms of the future. Take a look at what's going on at the University of Oregon College of Education next fall. College graduates who earned their degrees in English, foreign language, math, science or social studies--and want to teach those subjects in middle school or high school--can now apply for admission. A student in the 12-month fifth-year graduate program can earn a teaching credential and a master's degree at the same time. Those admitted to the UO's expanded program will be a part of the first graduating class of Oregon teachers trained to teach to the higher standards set by Oregon's school reform law. Oregon's school reform act enables students to graduate public school with certificates of initial mastery and advanced mastery by passing rigorous performance tests. Other states are adopting similar reforms. UO education dean Martin J. Kaufman says the Oregon State System of Higher Education approved the expansion of the UO's teacher licensure programs to help the state meet the anticipated demand for teachers who can bring all of their students up to the new standards. "The expanded UO program will emphasize performance in the classroom as well as education theory," says Dean Kaufman. "Students will begin working--with appropriate supervision--in real classrooms with real students the first term of classes," Kaufman adds. "It's appropriate that this college--the No. 1 research institution among U. S. colleges of education--should take the lead in training these new teachers," Kaufman says. In 1997 U.S. News & World Report ranked the UO College of Education No. 1 for the amount of research dollars it attracts and rated its graduate school among the top 10 percent in the nation. The one-year graduate program will cost considerably less than several private colleges charge for a fifth-year teacher licensure program at the middle and secondary school levels. For more information, or to apply for admission to the program, call Linda Kelm, in the UO Department of Education Leadership, Technology and Administration, (541) 346-1497. -30- #O-6063/Special to the Emerald