The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute's Urban Teacher Education Program (UTEP) and the University of Chicago are preparing 72 highly trained teachers to address the shortage of well-qualified educators in mathematics and science in urban schools. The university has high admissions standards and demanding academic programs that ensure its graduates possess strong grounding in their content areas, providing UTEP with an excellent applicant pool. UTEP has a strong track record retaining teachers at rates far beyond those reported for urban schools generally. The program is a two-year plus program, which includes 15 months of intensive clinical experience; a tight weave of clinical and academic work; a commitment to portraying teaching as intellectual work; careful selection and support of clinical instructors to mentor students during their internships; a unique focus on the context of urban education, including exploration of issues of race, class and culture; a two-year induction support program; a rigorous admissions process and assessment system that follows students through clearly defined check points; a well established relationship with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) that provides institutional and financial support; and a commitment to recruiting minority candidates. The program draws heavily from the expertise of faculty at the University of Chicago.
UTEP's innovative program design, which has proven to be successful in the preparation and retention of urban elementary teachers, is making a similar contribution to secondary teacher education in the critical areas of math and biology. UTEP has demonstrated the power of joining the forces of committed University faculty with experienced urban practitioners, a partnership that will deepen as the program moves into the realm of secondary education. The unusual support UTEP receives from its parent University and from the Chicago Public Schools can serve as a model for the ways in which academic institutions can fulfill their obligations to the cities which host them. Like its elementary counterpart, the secondary teacher preparation program is built upon an existing and fruitful partnership between the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute and Chicago Public Schools. Further, CPS has supported UTEP as a strategy for school improvement, placing clusters of graduates in partner schools with a concentration of clinical instructors, interns, and program graduates.
