Announcement Regarding Teacher Preparation and Education Studies Programs

Yale University has announced several changes to its Teacher Preparation and Education Studies programs. The master’s program in Urban Education Studies will end in the summer of 2011, when the current cohort of students completes its coursework. In addition, the undergraduate Early Childhood and Secondary certificate programs will be available to Yale College classes only through May, 2011, although non-certificate courses in Education Studies will continue to be offered.

The Urban Education Studies graduate program, piloted in 2005, combined intensive advanced graduate courses with clinical experience and preparation for teaching in an urban setting. Graduates of the program, who received a full fellowship and stipend from Yale for their studies, committed to teaching in a New Haven Public middle or high school for a specified period following completion of their degree. Twenty teaching professionals have graduated from the program since its inception; fourteen of those graduates remain teaching in the New Haven Public Schools. Students currently enrolled in the Urban Education Studies graduate program will continue to receive individual and group support from faculty in Yale’s Teacher Preparation and Education Studies program as they fulfill their remaining two-year post-graduation teaching commitment in the New Haven Public Schools.

“In a short time, the Yale Urban Teaching Program has made real contributions to New Haven Public Schools,” said Yale Graduate School Associate Dean Pamela Schirmeister. “We are grateful to all of the program’s participants – students, graduates, and faculty – and we know their commitment and impact will continue long after the program’s completion.”

The Teacher Preparation program in Yale College has seen a decline in certifications over time, even as interest in public school teaching has risen among recent graduates. In 2010, three graduates received certifications. At the same time, Yale College graduates have increasingly chosen teaching in underserved public schools in great numbers through Teach for America.  Forty-six members of the Yale College Class of 2010 began teaching through TFA this year, compared to 25 from the Class of 2006.  TFA itself has expanded its efforts in Connecticut, especially New Haven, in line with the New Haven School Change Initiative, launched by the City in 2009.

“Even without formal Connecticut teaching certification, many Yale College students are clearly committed to teaching in the public schools, both in New Haven and beyond,” said Yale College Dean Mary Miller. “The dedicated faculty of the Teacher Preparation and Education Studies program will continue to provide those students who plan to enter the teaching profession with the courses and resources needed to help them realize their goals.”

Yale University maintains extensive partnerships with the New Haven Public Schools, including the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, founded in 1978, which sponsors talks and seminars designed to strengthen teaching and learning in local schools, and links New Haven public school teachers with Yale faculty to develop curricula.  Almost 50 New Haven teachers are Institute Fellows this year and almost 1,800 curriculum units have been developed over the years through the Institute.  The University also supports teachers’ professional development with fellowship programs at the Yale Peabody Museum and the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies.

The University has also made a major commitment to the New Haven School Change Initiative as the sponsor of scholarships of the New Haven Promise program, which will provide tuition funds to college-bound New Haven public school graduates.  Yale’s commitments build on numerous longstanding academic partnerships with the public schools.  More than 10,000 New Haven students participate in academic programs on campus during the school year and over 1,000 Yale faculty, students, and staff serve as tutors and mentors in public schools across the city.