Newsletter

Professional Education Advisory Boards at SPU

The School of Education at SPU is always looking to improve and adapt to the changing educational landscape. One way that the SOE actively seeks feedback is through four Professional Education Advisory Boards (PEABs): the Teacher PEAB, the School Counselor PEAB, the Principal PEAB, and the Superintendent PEAB. These PEABs are designed to provide the SOE programs with insight and feedback regarding decisions on the development, implementation, and revision of their program. The PEABs also look at evidence to evaluate whether the program is in compliance with the program approval standards set by Washington state.

Each PEAB consists of current educators, members of state education associations, and SPU representatives. All PEABs are required to have members from different educational fields; typically, this means that each PEAB includes, at minimum, a teacher, a principal, a school administrator, a school counselor, and an SPU representative in its membership. This allows for each PEAB to include the perspectives of multiple educator roles in their reflection and feedback to the program.

In order to continuously evaluate and make program recommendations, each PEAB is required to meet at least three times a year. The evaluation process includes a review and consideration of student surveys, employment placement records, student performance portfolios, and course evaluations.

Teacher PEAB
The Teacher PEAB consists of 11 voting members and is led by Dan Bishop, assistant dean in teacher and professional education at SPU. Recently, the Teacher PEAB has participated in the state and national accreditation process for SOE. They provided input on course alignment in order to ensure that teacher candidates are well prepared for the mandated state assessments, and that they graduate with skills to make a positive impact on student learning. If you are interested in joining the Teacher PEAB, please contact your state association to learn more about the appointment process.

School Counselor PEAB
The School Counselor PEAB has 11 members and is chaired by Terry Coleman, professional school counselor at Cedar Wood Elementary School. The School Counselor PEAB supports the program’s desire to achieve CACREP accreditation and met with CACREP representatives earlier this fall. In addition to reviewing graduate placement data, the demographics of incoming cohorts, and graduation statistics, the PEAB meets annually with current students to learn about their experiences in the program. If you are interested in joining the School Counselor PEAB, please contact your state association or Terry Coleman at tcoleman@everettsd.org.

Principal and Superintendent PEABs
The Principal and Superintendent PEABs work closely together because there is great overlap in the responsibilities of these two PEABs. They meet jointly to discuss common issues and then adjourn to separate meetings to discuss more program-specific topics. The Principal PEAB has 13 members and is chaired by John Bond, associate professor in educational leadership at SPU.

The Superintendent PEAB has 13 members and is chaired by Associate Professor of Education Bill Prenevost, chair of the Educational Leadership Program at SPU. The PEABs regularly discuss program requirements and standards, as well as Professional Education Standards Board (PESB) communications. If you are interested in joining the Principal PEAB, contact your state association or Dr. John Bond. If you are interested in joining the Superintendent PEAB, please contact your state association or Dr. Bill Prenevost.

The School of Education at SPU would like to thank all of its PEAB members for volunteering their time to support the SOE programs. Your input is valued and appreciated as SOE works to educate thoughtful and skilled future educators.