Preparing the Foundation

What should you do before you begin?

Preparing the Foundation

What should you do before you begin?

quotesArtboard 1 copy 2

Despite some hesitation, the program leadership decided the best way to get started was to simply get started.

― Robert McPherson
Dean, University of Houston

Consider 3 Things:

  1. Who will participate
  2. What data you will use
  3. Determine a timeline

Scale planning is challenging and, at times, “messy” work.  Scaling a high-quality educator preparation program, as we’ve learned in the US PREP Coalition, also doesn’t happen overnight.  In fact, it takes many months of meticulous planning and continued progress monitoring against a collective vision and goals.  That said, it’s highly rewarding when you’ve gone through the process of defining how you will grow your educator preparation program into one that is of the highest quality for teachers, students, and communities.  We’ve experienced it happen and we’re excited to be on this journey alongside you.  Scale planning, in our experience, necessitates momentum.  It also necessitates leaders that ensure everyone on the team is “rowing” in the same direction.   

Consider 3 Things:

  1. Who will participate
  2. What data you will use
  3. Determine a timeline

Scale planning is challenging and, at times, “messy” work.  Scaling a high-quality educator preparation program, as we’ve learned in the US PREP Coalition, also doesn’t happen overnight.  In fact, it takes many months of meticulous planning and continued progress monitoring against a collective vision and goals.  That said, it’s highly rewarding when you’ve gone through the process of defining how you will grow your educator preparation program into one that is of the highest quality for teachers, students, and communities.  We’ve experienced it happen and we’re excited to be on this journey alongside you.  Scale planning, in our experience, necessitates momentum.  It also necessitates leaders that ensure everyone on the team is “rowing” in the same direction.   

In preparation for the planning of scale at your educator preparation program, we ask that you consider three things:

  • Determine who will participate, both in the short-term and during each phase of the implementation,
  • Identify what data (qualitative and quantitative) you will need prior to planning/decision-making, ensuring you’re able to make the best decisions possible and build momentum, quickly, together, and
  • Determine a timeline for scaling your institution’s transformed model of high-quality teacher preparation, ensuring the team is able to track its progress in a meaningful way. 

None of the above can be overemphasized. Knowing who is needed to make decisions and support the transformation, what data is needed to make the better decisions, and having an ambitious and feasible timeline are each essential for any large-scale change effort. We’ve provided a little more detail on each of these to support your preparations.


  • Who will participate in scaling our program?

    Let’s continue thinking about who should participate in scaling your educator preparation program, particularly your K-12 partners, through the following ideas and thoughts.


    Ensuring that the “right” people are in the room as you develop your educator preparation program’s scale plan together is fundamental.  Leaders must make certain all necessary stakeholders have an opportunity to provide input on the direction and implementation of the high-quality model.  Doing so will support investment and decision-making that ensures both commitment and accountability in implementing the change desired.  Below are some roles within most educator preparation programs that we recommend:  


    • Decision-Maker: The individual who holds and gives authority over the educator preparation program (e.g. Provost, Dean, etc.)
    • Owner(s) : The individual(s) responsible, and ultimately held accountable, for the actions/implementation of transformation (e.g. Department Chairs, Managers, etc.)  
    • Champion(s): Typically members of cross-functional teams or stakeholders that you know will heavily influence the momentum of the transformation (e.g. Recruitment, Advising, etc.)
    • Directors/Implementers: The individuals responsible for supporting the implementation of the plan and, in turn, those that should be heavily consulted and provide input (e.g. Certification Officers, Data Leads, etc.).  

  • What should I prepare prior to scaling?

    There is no comprehensive list of things you might prepare for your time together scale planning. That said, there are a few high-leverage items that must be gathered in advance to streamline the time together and make best use of the stakeholders that gather. 


    College of Education Enrollment

    • Candidates eligible for practicum/clinical experience (most critical for this planning) -Number of candidates, by pathway, by district (e.g. paraprofessionals, intern certificate track, by content area/pathway)
    • Past enrollment data (past three years), by pathway, by district
    • Number of juniors and seniors enrolled, by pathway, by district
    • Number of transfer students
    • Forecasted enrollment data 

    Performance Gates (Coursework and Clinical Experiences)

    • Current performance gates 
    • Desired performance gates based on transformed model 

    School Districts and Priority Placement Sites/Areas Data

    • Current partnering school districts
    • Potential partnering school districts
    • Academies
    • Stipend programs

    Hiring/Placement Data

    • Potential partnering school districts
    • Academies

    State/District requirements re: clinical placement

    • Content exam passage requirements
    • Contractual obligation considerations

    Course Calendar(s)

    • By program/pathway
    • Additional local factors/considerations you believe would make scale planning more effective/streamlined

  • What is the timeline for scale?

    Ensuring your faculty/staff are clear on an expected timeline for scaling the transformed model is most critical. This work does take time and the factor of time informs every other factor and decision when it comes to preparing a scale plan. 


    How much available time one has informed every other factor and decision when it comes to preparing a scale plan.  Below is a graphic illustrating US PREP’s expected timeline for scaling the transformed model across its coalition of twenty-two universities.  While exceptions do exist based on local factors, our experiences in transformation suggest that this timeline is the catalyst for decisions and the rate of decision-making that follows.  The “correct” rate of change must balance being both ambitious and feasible.  

Pause and Process

Pause and Process

At the end of each section of the US PREP Scale Toolkit we will ask a few brief questions for you to consider on your journey. Once you have completed all the Pause and Process Sections, we will send you your answers via email so you can see your results.


We encourage you to keep your results and share them with your US PREP scaling partner.