What: It won't have the usual pomp and circumstance of a traditional university graduation ceremony, and the graduates won't wear caps and gowns. But for the first time on Saturday, California State University, Sacramento, and the University of California, Davis, will celebrate their partnership in an important contribution to meeting a pressing state need. They will honor almost 60 graduates in the inaugural class of an accelerated program to formally prepare elementary-level teachers. The graduates and about 300 guests are expected to attend a barbecue and an unofficial graduation ceremony. When and where: Saturday, July 17 o 5 p.m., barbecue o 7:30 p.m., unofficial graduation ceremony Both events will take place outside Putah Creek Lodge at UC Davis. Visuals: During the ceremony, students will receive scrolls recognizing their achievement. One student will speak about her teaching and learning experiences over the last year, another will read a poem in honor of a deceased classmate and a third will perform an original song about teaching. Members of the media are also welcome to make arrangements to attend classes this week. Background: The program will recommend that almost 60 students -- some who have taught in California schools with an emergency permit and others aiming to enter the profession -- receive their credentials for having successfully completed coursework and a teaching assignment under the supervision of a faculty member. More than 50 percent of the students already have teaching positions for this fall. "The genius of the program is that it allows individuals already teaching with an emergency permit to earn their credentials while still being available to teach during the school year," says Barbara Goldman, associate director of teacher education at UC Davis. Students took seven intensive courses at UC Davis over a five-week period last summer, taught elementary pupils for at least one semester under the supervision of a faculty member and returned to UC Davis this summer for another five courses over three weeks. The courses, taught by professors from both universities, explore methods of helping non-native speakers acquire fluency in English, approaches for teaching elementary-school subject matter, strategies for working with cultural diversity in the classroom and techniques for integrating technology with instruction. Diane Cordero de Noriega, dean of the College of Education at CSUS, says the program represents a groundbreaking collaboration between the two institutions. "We really have gained the strength of both of our universities," she says. According to the 1997-98 annual report of the state's Commission on Teacher Credentialing, about 30,000 or 11 percent of teachers in California taught with an emergency permit. The percentage of teachers using emergency permits ranges from 5 percent in Sacramento County and 9 percent in Yolo County to a high of 20 percent in Los Angeles County. The teacher shortage is attributed to the state's initiative to reduce class size in lower grades, the increasing school-age population in the state and the retirement of a large cohort of teachers who began their careers in the 1960s. The second class of 60 students began their coursework at UC Davis at the end of June and will continue through July. Directions Take Interstate 80 to the UC Davis exit and head north on Old and parking: Davis Road. Proceed through a stop sign and cross a small bridge. Turn left on La Rue Road. Turn left on Putah Creek Lodge Drive. Follow a bend to the right to reach a parking lot. Overflow parking is available in Lot 47 on La Rue Road immediately opposite Putah Creek Lodge Drive. Leave a media business card on your dashboard as a parking permit, unless your vehicle is already marked. Media contacts: -- Barbara Goldman, UC Davis Division of Education, (530) 752-5395, bgoldman@ucdavis.edu -- Diane Cordero de Noriega, CSUS College of Education, (916) 278-6639 -- Julia Ann Easley, News Service, (530) 752-8248, jaeasley @ucdavis.edu