Tresmaine Grimes, PhD, Dean, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education
Brian Evans, EdD, Associate Dean and Professor
Francine Falk-Ross, PhD, NYC Department Chair and Professor
Shobana Musti, PhD, Westchester Department Chair and Professor
Erika Altolaguirre, Executive Director, Administration and Accreditation
Desiree Narciso, Director of Marketing and Communications
Linda Guyette, Director for Certification Services
Ann Marie McGlynn, Director, Centralized Advisement
Joanna Lockspeiser, Academic Advisor, NYC
Jennifer Argenta, Director of School Partnerships, Westchester
Jill Weinberg, Director of School Partnerships, NYC
Cassandra Hyacinthe, Alternative Certification Program Officer, NYC
Elizabeth Luongo, Senior Staff Associate
All Pace School of Education teacher certification programs are registered with and approved by the New York State Education Department. Pace University School of Education is a proud member of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). AAQEP is an accreditation organization for educator preparation programs founded in 2017 to promote the preparation of effective educators by way of innovative, outcomes-focused programs that engage education’s toughest challenges, directly and in context. AAQEP’s comprehensive standards for educator preparation examine and verify an institution’s performance and level of excellence in program practices. Pace University is also Middle States Accredited.
The more we discuss education publicly, the better opportunities our schools can create for our children. Education and opportunity are inherently intertwined. We believe that our public schools directly shape our society for generations to come. An inclusive society demands inclusive public schools. At Pace University, we prepare inclusive teachers to systematically honor the unique learning needs of every child, the unique gifts of every community, and the unique potential of education to transform a family's future. And it all starts with making education public.
The mission of the School of Education is to affect quality teaching and learning in public and private early childhood, childhood, secondary, and non-school settings by preparing educators who are reflective professionals who promote social justice, create caring classroom and school communities and enable all students to be successful learners.
The School of Education believes that a fundamental aim in education is to nurture the development and growth of human potential within a democratic community. Therefore, we prepare graduates of our programs to be:
These themes form the conceptual framework for the outcomes of the School of Education Programs and guide every aspect of preparing educators for K-12 settings through planning, assessment, and evaluation at both candidate and program levels.
As reflective professionals, our candidates learn to appreciate the continuity between theory and practice and seek an understanding of themselves in relation to others as part of an evolving historical process. Our candidates are expected to take multiple perspectives and to become self-conscious about their own learning. At Pace, we understand that reflective practice is the lens through which teacher educators and candidates see our professional lives. The reflective process is promoted through class discussions, course readings and assignments, case studies, field experiences, self-assessment, and student teaching.
To become professionals who promote justice, our candidates learn to address justice and equity in the following areas:
As we understand it, justice also implies a balance between the rights of individuals and the needs of society. Through challenging coursework and varied field experiences our candidates are provided with multiple opportunities to recognize injustice and to learn how they can promote justice both within and without their classrooms.
Caring classrooms and school communities are seen as places where an "ethic of care" is developed and as places for instructional excellence. At Pace, we draw on our own experience of working in a caring community among faculty, staff, and candidates to model and nurture our candidates by coming to know, respect, and learn from one another. We see our classrooms as places where mutual respect and learning provide candidates with a framework for future practice.
Our fourth theme is both the culminating framework element for all our programs and the ultimate goal of our School of Education. Enabling all students to be successful learners conveys our awareness of the diversity within American schools and our respect for each student's prior experience and personal background. When we say successful learners, we refer to students who develop active habits of questioning and inquiry; who are self-initiating problem posers and problem solvers; who seek to construct deep understandings about complex situations, based on prior knowledge; and who obtain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to succeed in an ever-changing world. We expect our graduates to facilitate their students' application of multiple alternative strategies for coping with novel situations and enhance their ability to make connections across different experiences, events, information, and time periods, and reflect on their own learning processes.
The School of Education is charged with the responsibility of preparing educators who will embrace and promote teaching and learning as lifelong priorities. Through the work of our faculty and graduates, equipped with sound and rigorous knowledge, skills, dispositions, and a rich practice base, we can prepare professional educators who exemplify these themes.
The Pace School of Education uses a unique design for providing school-based experiences for candidates through school partnerships called Centers for Professional Development. Candidates begin to spend time in the public schools of New York City or Westchester County with their first education course, TCH 201. At the point of admission to the School, candidates become part of a cohort group assigned to a Center for Professional Development (CPD) where they will have all of their school-based "field experiences," including student teaching. Each Center is in a public school serving a diverse population, responsive to our conceptual framework and in keeping with our vision of what it means to become a teacher prepared at Pace University.
In the Early Childhood program, juniors are required to spend one full day a week in a partner school in kindergarten in the fall, and one full day a week in a partner school in a Community Based Preschool, Head Start, or Pre-K program in the spring. In the fall of their senior year, students spend two full days a week in a partner school in a 1st or 2nd-grade setting. In their last semester, the candidates spend five full days a week in a partner school student teaching for one 14-week semester in any early childhood setting (Pre-K, K, 1st, or 2nd).
In the Early Childhood/Childhood program, juniors are required to spend one full day a week in a partner school in kindergarten in the fall, and one full day a week in a partner school in a Community Based Preschool, Head Start, or Pre-K program in the spring. In the fall of their last year, they will spend 2 days a week in a 3-6th grade setting. During the last semester, candidates student teach for a 14-week semester in the spring in one grade level placement in a 1st or 2nd-grade classroom aligned to their program-specific requirements.
In the Childhood program, candidates are assigned to two mentor teachers: grades 1-3 and 4-6. In the Adolescent program, candidates are assigned to one mentor teacher who teaches grades 7-9, and one who teaches grades 10-12. As juniors, candidates are required to spend one full day a week in a partner school for two semesters (fall/spring). Each semester of junior year, students work with a mentor teacher in one of two required placements: grades 1-3 and grades 4-6 (childhood) or grades 7-9 and 10-12 (adolescent). As first-semester seniors, the candidates are required to spend two full days a week in a partner school. The candidates will begin the semester with one of their mentor teachers for the first half of the semester (childhood or adolescent grade level) and finish the second half of the semester with their other mentor teacher in the alternate grade level (childhood or adolescent). In their last semester (spring), the candidates spend five full days a week in a partner school student teaching for one 14-week semester.
Candidates return to the same school for at least four semesters, until they graduate, gradually increasing both the time they spend in the CPD and the responsibilities they undertake.
A Pace clinical supervisor is assigned to each CPD cohort and remains on-site in the school with the candidates until they complete the program, acting as a liaison between the candidates and their mentor teachers. Coursework links directly to these field experiences through readings, assignments, and class discussions; and teaching faculty and clinical faculty work together to help candidates apply the theories of learning and teaching to school practice. Teaching faculty assign experiences for candidates to complete in the CPD and design rubrics and checklists that the clinical faculty use to assess the candidates' knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
In addition to structured field experiences linked to courses and student teaching, there are many other opportunities for students to spend extensive time in school settings doing meaningful work. Many of these opportunities also provide candidates with financial support for their studies.
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2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog
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