According to a recent study, nine out of 10 principals do not believe college graduates are prepared to teach in a classroom, but some local professors and students are questioning those results.

The four-year Education Schools Project study, which was conducted by Arthur Levine, the president of Columbia University Teachers College, focused on schools across the country with problems of lowered admission standards, easier coursework and the need for leadership.

The study also looked at how education colleges operate and people affected by it.

Joseph Polizzi (graduate-educational leadership) said school principals should pay more attention to their teacher induction programs.

"They have a primary responsibility to new teachers to ensure or at least foster a successful and fruitful career," he said.

Polizzi said all of the nation's colleges of education can do a better job of preparing students to work in urban, poor and low-performing school districts.

Kenneth Gray, professor of education and former high school teacher, said education professors and lecturers often do not have experience as administrators.

"There are not many people in Penn State's College of Education that have actually walked the walk," he said. "It is difficult to teach people to be successful in an environment you've never worked in."

Heather Simpson (sophomore-education) said a Penn State education student struggles to gain much-needed classroom experience because of limited opportunity in such a large university.

"I learned a lot more on my own being put in a classroom than the teacher just teaching theories to me," she said.

Stephanie Grande (junior-education) also said the education program at Penn State has some room for improvement.

"Some [education] classes are excellent while some are absolutely horrible and need to be re-thought," she said.

Penn State's College of Education has a partnership with the State College Area School District, which includes the elementary level professional development and the high school English professional development schools, Polizzi said.

"They are quietly raising the bar for student-teaching experiences across the state and across the nation," Polizzi said.

Donnan Stoicovy, principal of Park Forest Elementary School, 2181 School Drive, which is part of the partnership, said the students who work with the school are well prepared.

"We've hired a lot more of the folks that have been interns because we've seen they are the quality we want in the school district," she said.

While there are built-in classroom experiences in regular classes, all students are required to have some kind of educational hands-on experience, Grande said.

"It's really helpful to see what you've learned illustrated in the classroom," she said.

"Until you get your own classroom, I don't know if you can really be prepared," Grande added.

Stoicovy said she thinks that the partnership between the Penn State and the State College Area School District should be a model to all Pennsylvania schools, in general.

"[The professional development plan] is an example of doing things the right way," Gray said.

Results from the national study can be found at www.edschools.org.