Preparation for the Classroom

Our experienced and knowledgeable faculty provides research-based training during the 6-week summer training Institute. The curriculum, coupled with practice teaching in summer school classrooms, provides Fellows with a unique pre-service training unlike any other alternative certification program.

Practice Teaching

Fellows spend the mornings with veteran teachers in their summer school classrooms observing and teaching students. The hands-on experience with supervision from an experienced teacher gives Fellows unique insight and preparation for their own classrooms.

Afternoon Sessions

Working in small, content-based groups with a master teacher in their subject areas, Fellows follow a research-based curriculum, Teaching for Student Achievement (TfSA). TfSA focuses on the two most crucial areas of learning for new teachers: Classroom Management and Culture and Instructional Design and Delivery. The Institute curriculum combines theory and practice and gives Fellows an opportunity to reflect on what they learn through their practice teaching as they prepare for the school year.

Fellows leave the Institute feeling prepared for what lies ahead: According to end of Institute surveys, 95% of 2005 Fellows felt that the Institute prepared them as well as possible to be successful in their first year of teaching.

The Institute is a full-time commitment and runs from the first week of June through mid-July. Fellows must be prepared to exit their current jobs and transition into the pre-service training and their new careers by June of 2008.