Professional Development and Partnership Schools:
Three elementary professional development schools work closely with the department to prepare teacher candidates, raise student achievement, and provide professional development for school and university-based faculty. Professional development schools approach their work through an inquiry lens that asks challenging questions about teaching and learning at both the school and university sites.
Modified Alternate Route Program for P-3 Certification:
The Modified Alternate Route Program for early childhood teacher candidates (P-3) is available to individuals with BA or BS degrees who are currently teaching in a preschool setting. This is an 18 credit program. We also have two satellite campuses at Cumberland County Community College in Vineland and Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County. This program currently enrolls more than 200 students each semester. For more information on these programs, please visit the Modified Alternate Route (MAR) / P-3 Certification program web site.
Research on Bilingual Preschoolers
Dr. Peggy Freedson is researching school success for multilingual children through a Department of Education funded professional development grant focused on creating eWorkshops for in-service teachers.
The Critical Urban Education Speaker Series and Summit
The Critical Urban Education (CUE) Speaker Series is a bi-annual event bringing leading national scholars to Montclair State University. CUE provides a forum to develop attendees’ racial and political analysis through a series of lectures and workshops focused on social and cultural issues influencing urban schools and communities. Attendees include Montclair State University graduate students, undergraduate students and faculty as well as local young people, educators and community members.
The Newark Teacher Project
The Newark Teacher Project (NTP) is a small, innovative program aimed to sustain the work of the Newark Montclair Urban Teacher Residency Program (NMUTR) by selecting students from the traditional teacher education programs within the Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Department and the Secondary and Special Education Department. Selected students demonstrate an early commitment to their own social justice development and a dedication to reaching and teaching children in urban settings. Similar to NMUTR, NTP is an intensive clinical year designed to better prepare new teachers for urban teaching. In this program, we engage in a process of learning to teach in ways that are socially just, anti-racist and responsive to the community in which we are situated. Many of the student teachers are placed with experienced mentor alumni from NMUTR who will provide our student teachers with caring, positive and directed mentorship that champions Newark children and their communities. NTP will develop a caring community built on strong relationships that lay the groundwork for powerful social justice teacher development.
Manga in the Classroom
Program devoted to using sequential art to help develop literacy skills and content knowledge.
ECELE Children and Youth Programs
The Summer Literacy Enrichment Program
The Summer Literacy Program of the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Education for children from grades 1-12, provides individualized diagnostic and literacy enrichment services for students who are experiencing difficulties in reading and language arts skills, or are seeking to enhance their general literacy skills. The program ensures that reading and writing remain fun and meaningful with the perfect balance of instructional support to keep children engaged in literacy experiences throughout the summer months, in preparation for the new school year.
The program is staffed by classroom teachers and Reading Specialists who are in the final stages of completing the requirements for their master’s degrees and/or state of New Jersey Reading Certification, most of whom have taught an average of five years. Instruction is done under the supervision of faculty from Montclair State University’s Graduate Program in Reading.
The Summer Literacy Program is offered during the month of July and is a partner with the EpiSTEMic Camp. For more information please email: ecele@montclair.edu
Features of the program include:
- Literacy interest interview with parent/guardian
- Individualized instruction
- Informal and formal assessment
- End of program portfolio share and conference
- Written report of student progress
- Nutritious lunch buffet
The epiSTEMic Program for Teaching and Learning
The epiSTEMic Program is a STEM collaboratory to engage children, pre- and in-service teachers, and university faculty to explore and deepen their understanding of STEM education. This inclusive program provides children in grades K-8 with diverse learning strengths to engage in hands-on, inquiry-based, interdisciplinary STEM activities for enrichment and core competencies development. Students partner with pre-service graduate certification students as they participate in one-on-one and small group STEM activities. Graduate students apply their knowledge of inquiry-based STEM pedagogy to develop lessons and assessments for their young partners. University faculty and mentor teachers facilitate the program for teaching and learning with the learner in mind. Faculty are currently researching this model of field experiences to strengthen and innovate the teacher certification programming to bridge theory with practice.
Offerings include:
- epiSTEMic Summer Program (month of July)
- epiSTEMic Saturday Programs (10 Saturdays in the fall and spring terms)
For more information please email: ecele@montclair.edu