The changing face of public education: the process of "revisioning" elementary teacher preparation programs.

Three years ago the elementary education department at Clemson University recognized the need for curricular change in the way we prepare teachers. The current program was not reflective of the changing demographics of multilingual and multicultural students in the public/ private school population. The challenge from the university provost was to create an enhanced elementary curriculum that would be unique in training students to meet these new demands. The purpose of this article is to share the revisioning process that led to redesigning the teacher preparation program. Promoting positive conversations about the richness of viewing diversity through a new lens will provide deeper insights into these issues.