The Urban Teacher Academy

Mission

The College of New Jersey’s Summer High School Urban Teacher Academy is offered to high school juniors interested in pursuing careers in urban education. This program is designed to attract students to the field of urban education through exposure to a world-class curriculum and hands on experiences that focus on teaching.

The availability of teachers in urban areas and hard-to-staff schools continues to be a challenge in the nation and in New Jersey. Studies suggest that while two million teachers may be needed nationally over the next ten years, traditional teacher preparation programs have only one million prospective teachers in the pipeline. Shortages will be particularly acute for math, science, special education, bilingual, and early childhood teachers. The College of New Jersey’s Urban Teacher Academy aims to capture the interests of potential teachers as an important strategy toward resolving this challenge.

TCNJ’S Urban Teacher Academy’s Goals 

• Students will examine and describe the professional responsibilities and ethics of teachers

• Students will develop the interpersonal skills to work effectively with their peers, school, community leaders, and children

• Students will learn the academic and professional requirements of becoming teachers

• Students will identify the personal and professional attributes of effective teaching

• Students will explain the relationship between schools and society

• Students will examine the frameworks for understanding poverty and their impact on urban schools

• Students will observe and participate in a variety of educational settings in our local communities

• Students will develop an understanding of diverse cultures in the school environment

• Students will trace the stages of child development

• Students will analyze and interpret trends and issues effecting education today and in the future

• Students will observe and apply a variety of teaching practices, methods, techniques

• Students will assess the impact of school climate and organization on learning

• Students will recognize various student behavior management strategies

• Students will identify the basic components of a lesson plan

• Students will plan and teach lessons to elementary students

• Students will examine the role of special education, describe areas of special education, define terminology, and propose ways to modify lessons to meet the needs of students with exceptionalities

• Students will differentiate between various learning styles and multiple intelligences

• Students will be provided with support to apply and enroll in collegiate teacher preparation programs with focus on urban education

• Students will describe schools as a microcosm of society