About
The School of Education at Manhattanville College offers undergraduate and graduate programs that lead to New York State certification for PK-12 teaching and administration. Students can become certified in early childhood education, elementary education (Childhood), literacy, physical education, school building leader, secondary education (biology, chemistry, physics, English, mathematics, foreign language [Spanish, French, Italian, Latin], social studies), special education, TESOL, theatre education (undergraduate only), music education, and visual arts. Those not interested in teaching per se, yet interested in the profession of education, can get a master’s degree in educational studies to strengthen careers in journalism, marketing, government, publishing, and the medical field.
Established as a School of Education in 1995, its program offerings go back to 1932 when it first offered an undergraduate music education program. The graduate education program began in 1965 with initial certification programs in secondary education, elementary education, music, and art. Today, the School of Education offers 14 bachelor degree programs, 32 master’s degree programs of which 20 are available as combined bachelor’s/master’s programs, one professional diploma, and 20 post-master’s certification programs. Approximately 200 undergraduates and 950 graduates are currently enrolled in the School of Education.
The School of Education was fully accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education in 2006 because of the high quality of its students, faculty, and programs. The mission of the School of Education, inspired by the College mission statement, is to educate candidates to become ethically and socially responsible teachers and school leaders for participation in the educational community.
Focused on meeting the needs of students, the School of Education offers programs for beginning teachers, current teachers seeking master’s degrees or additional certificates, seasoned teachers seeking certification as future school leaders, and career changers considering teaching for the first time. Two examples of programs for career changers are Jump Start and Day Start. The Jump Start program is an accelerated master’s and initial certification program for career changers who can begin teaching with an intern certificate in New York City after 5 months of coursework. The Day Start program is a program in elementary education (Childhood) only that is offered during the day. Day Start students have the opportunity to join a special Fellows program that takes place in the George Washington Elementary School in White Plains School District.
Special programming for students continues after graduation with a mentoring program called the Manhattanville Alumni Mentoring Guild, a Distinguished Lecturer Series with well-known educators from the region, and interesting panel presentations through the education honorary, Kappa Delta Pi.
Community outreach is a hallmark of the School of Education. Unique to the School of Education is its Changing Suburbs Institute (CSI), comprised of a consortium of seven school districts and community representatives, focused on improving the educational opportunities of Hispanic students. Recognizing the influx of Hispanic students to the lower Hudson region, the School of Education developed CSI to help teachers, administrators, parents, and the community work together to address the challenges of the changing suburbs. A Parent Leadership component, annual conferences, and special school programming represent some of the CSI initiatives. Particularly exciting is the work of the School of Education faculty and students in the School’s three Professional Development Schools that are in CSI districts.
The School of Education also takes pride in M-PALS (Manhattanville Promotes Academics and Life-Long Success), an on-campus program for high achieving middle school and high school students from families with modest incomes.
The School of Education team of faculty, administrators, and staff believe that the strength of the School of Education is a result of the high quality of its students, who already are or evolve into highly qualified and effective teachers. We invite you to explore the many facets of the School of Education on these pages, and hope that you will contact us to find out more about ways to enroll in our programs or get involved with our alumni initiatives.