Urban Teacher Preparation Program
Preparing future teachers for Success in urban Education.
Students who major in elementary education at Carthage have the option to enroll in Carthage’s Urban Teacher Preparation Program. This program aims to identify, instruct, inspire, and increase the number of resilient, highly effective teachers committed to teaching in high-need, urban school settings.
Students in the program commit to 3-4 years of field experience in a specifically assigned urban school while they complete their undergraduate education. This fieldwork allows for a waiver of the 82 credits Carthage students must take outside their majors.
Students who complete the Urban Teacher Preparation Program earn a minor in urban education in addition to their degree in elementary education.
The Urban Teacher Preparation Program at Carthage is the most immersive program of its kind in Wisconsin. Students visit local classrooms early and often. The Education Department faculty draw from hundreds of years as professional teachers in such urban settings as Chicago, Milwaukee, Tulsa, and Rochester, New York.
Support the Pathway to College Program!
About Carthage’s Urban Education Program
“Becoming a culturally relevant educator means you do not just teach the curriculum the way you feel is best and easiest for you; it means you learn everything you can about the students, and then you use that knowledge to shape your teaching methods to best fit the students.”
— Briana Varnes ’17
What are the benefits?
- Scholarships available
- Employment opportunities (after school and summer school)
- Four years of clinical co-teaching with approved expert urban teachers
- Potential eligibility for student loan forgiveness
- Community service
- Paid summer school teaching experience
Program activities
- Culturally relevant curriculum and culturally responsive teaching
- Reflective practice/inquiry for transformative learning
- Interdisciplinary content instruction/STEAM and STEM
- Specific courses taught at school sites
- Reflective practice/inquiry
- Ongoing feedback and support
- Coaching support for at least three years, including virtual coaching
Testimonials
- See the impact of Carthage’s Urban Teacher Preparation Program
- Read a testimonial letter about the Urban Teacher Preparation Program
- Watch a student’s testimonial video about the Urban Teacher Preparation Program
Reflections
Watch this student-designed documentary about urban teaching. Several administrators and expert urban teachers were interviewed to share their perspectives and reflections on urban education.
In The Media
WGTD’S EDUCATION MATTERS
Professor Karin Sconzert, chair of Carthage’s Education Department, director of the Broad Field Social Science Program at Carthage, and host of WGTD’s Education Matters discusses teaching from home at Julien Thomas Elementary School in Racine with teachers Amy Simon and Tonya Wilson; Carthage Urban Teacher Preparation Program student Adriana Santana; and Carthage’s Urban Teacher Preparation Program Manager Siovahn Williams.
JOURNAL TIMES: CARTHAGE’S NEW URBAN TEACHER PROGRAM PUTS TEACHERS IN RACINE CLASSROOMS
The Journal Times writes about Carthage’s Urban Teacher Preparation Program and how the program has been implemented in schools in Racine.