Deborah Eldridge, Ed.D.
Dean and Academic Vice President, Teachers College | Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UT, UNITED STATES
Dr. Eldridge is an expert in program strategy, curriculum development, accreditation, and licensure for teacher education.
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Biography
Dr. Deborah Eldridge is Dean and Academic Vice President of Western Governors University's Teachers College. Deb leads program strategy, curriculum development, accreditation, and licensure for the online Teachers College, which offers programs leading to teacher licensure as well as graduate programs for teachers.
Before coming to WGU, Deb was a Senior Vice President at the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the governing body that formed from the merger of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). While serving in that role, she drafted the preliminary policies and procedures of CAEP and provided overall administration for all accreditation operations.
Prior to her work at CAEP, Deb was engaged in teacher preparation as a professor of literacy education, department chair of Curriculum and Instruction at Hunter College and Montclair State University, an Associate Dean responsible for accreditation at Hunter College, and then Dean of Education at Lehman College of the City University of New York. She was the primary author of two Teacher Quality Partnership grants/awards from the United States Department of Education: one for Lehman College and one for the American Museum of Natural History. Deb is a nationally recognized presenter on accreditation, and is the author of numerous books and articles on teacher preparation and accreditation.
Areas of Expertise (9)
Teacher Evaluation
Early Literacy
Teacher Education
Accreditation
Curriculum Design
Higher Education
Teaching
Multilingual Education
Alternative Routes to Licensure
Accomplishments (1)
Teacher Quality Partnership
United States Department of Education
Education (2)
Boston University: Ed.D., Language Literacy and Cultural Studies 1993
The University of Texas at Austin: M.A., Bilingual and Multilingual Education 1978
Affiliations (4)
- Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation: Member
- American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education: Member
- The Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education: Member
- National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification: Member
Selected Media Appearances (4)
‘Basically I’m their teacher’: Washington has big plans for its 25,500 school paraeducators
The Seattle Times online
2019-07-28
In 2017, state lawmakers pledged to fully fund a mandatory, four-day training course for all paraeducators. But budget negotiations during this year’s legislative session provided only enough money to pay for half. There’s also growing recognition that it’s not just paraeducators who need better training, and that the teachers that paraeducators are supposed to support could benefit from learning exactly how to work with the extra adult in their classrooms. “This isn’t an aspect of teacher prep that’s done particularly well,” said Deb Eldridge, dean and academic vice president for the teachers college at Western Governors University-Washington. Eldridge previously worked with a national accreditor to vet teacher-preparation programs. And many, she said, spent little time helping teachers-to-be understand how to work with paraeducators. As for its work to support paraeducators, she said, “Washington is ahead of the curve.”
WGU Offers $50,000 in Scholarships to Strengthen Utah's Teacher Pipeline
WGU online
2019-03-25
“We are so proud to be able to give back to our local community in one of the most profound ways we can: educating our state’s educators,” said Dr. Deb Eldridge, Academic Vice President of WGU’s Teachers College. “Providing a high-quality, flexible path to a teaching degree at a cost Utah’s teachers can afford is what we do best, and this scholarship will allow us to serve even more Utahns.” The scholarship is open to current teachers as well as non-credentialed staff in the following school systems: Alpine School District Canyons School District Davis School District Granite School District Jordan School District American Preparatory Academy
New Gallup Study Finds Student Satisfaction is Above Average at WGU
eLearning Inside online
2018-04-22
Western Governors University (WGU), an online competency-based institution, continues to make inroads in higher education. A new Gallup study suggests that WGU is also doing an outstanding job meeting its students’ needs and preparing its students for rewarding careers. Western Governors University’s Growth WGU was established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mandate to expand access to high-quality and affordable higher education by making the most of emerging digital technologies. Over two decades later, the university serves 95,000 students across the United States and already has 103,000 graduates. Despite a few recent stumbles with federal authorities who have questioned whether all of the university’s courses meet federal standards, by and large, WGU has emerged as an exemplary model in the online higher education market. The recent appointment of accreditation expert, Dr. Deborah Eldridge, who will serve as VP of WGU’s Teachers College, also points to the institution’s growing interest in upholding the very highest possible standards.
Dr. Deborah Eldridge Named Academic Vice President of WGU’s Teachers College News Brief
WGU News Releases online
2018-04-04
Dr. Deborah Eldridge has joined Western Governors University (WGU) as Academic Vice President, Teachers College. Dr. Eldridge will lead program strategy, curriculum development, accreditation, and licensure for the online Teachers College, which offers programs leading to teacher licensure as well as graduate programs for teachers. WGU’s Teachers College is one of the largest in the country, with more than 20,000 enrolled students in all 50 states.
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