Middle Tennessee State University’s in-the-field training offered through its undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program has been ranked among the nation’s best by the National Council on Teacher Quality. MTSU’s clinical practice program stands out as among only 33 traditional elementary programs out of more than the 1,100 evaluated to earn an “A” grade in the NCTQ’s 2020 Teacher Prep Review.

Bobbi Lussier, executive director of professional laboratory experiences in MTSU’s College of Education, credited collaboration with the school’s pre-K-12 partners for its score on the clinical practice, also known as inclassroom experience and student teaching.

“It’s reflective of all the hard work that the university, our school partners, our faculty, their faculty and our teacher candidates have committed to … producing effective teachers for the future of our students in the classroom,” Lussier said. “That’s our focus. It’s not necessarily all about our teacher candidates, but the students that they’re going to be teaching in the classroom. That’s where the focus needs to be."