Center for Teacher Education

Patricia Tempesta, Interim Director

For full faculty listing, see "Faculty and Administration."

The Center for Teacher Education is the central source for information related to the various state requirements for certification. The center promotes faculty development by sponsoring seminars, workshops, and conferences for current teachers; administers externally funded grant programs; and provides instruction in some required and elective education courses for students in teacher education programs.

The center administers the Partnership in Teaching program, which provides faculty and staff volunteers for the classrooms and laboratories of local public schools through regular class visits, evening programs, special events, and teacher consultations. The Partnership in Teaching program also provides modest funding for study groups composed of Ithaca College professors and local public school teachers. The College's participation in the Access to College Education program (ACE), a consortium composed of several area colleges and numerous public schools, is also administered through the center. The center collaborates with several area school districts in sponsoring Project Look Sharp, an initiative to help teachers integrate media literacy into the curriculum. Through the center, Ithaca College has formal partnership arrangements with two schools: the neighboring South Hill Elementary School and the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem.

Certification Programs

Ithaca College provides programs that lead to initial, as well as permanent or professional, New York State teaching certification in a variety of disciplines. All teacher education programs are registered with the New York State Education Department. Information about certification requirements in other states is available in the Center for Teacher Education and in the Office of Career Services. New York State has reciprocal teaching certification agreements with numerous other states. Information about reciprocity is on file in the Center for Teacher Education.

Certification is not automatic; it is awarded only to students who have completed an approved teacher education program, achieved passing scores on required teacher education exams, and applied for certification from the appropriate state education department. Applications for New York State teacher certification can be submitted through the Center for Teacher Education. We encourage students interested in pursuing teaching as a profession to discuss options with the director of the Center for Teacher Education or with the appropriate department chair or teaching option coordinator in their school.

All of the College's teacher education programs have been revised to meet new New York State Regents' standards for teacher preparation, which became effective in February 2004. Ithaca College does not offer a separate degree program in elementary education.

Initial teaching certification programs are offered in the following areas:

School of Health Sciences and Human Performance

• Health Education
• Physical Education
• Health Education and Physical Education
• Teaching Students with Speech and Language Disabilities

School of Humanities and Sciences

• Art
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• English
• French
• German
• Mathematics
• Mathematics-Computer Science
• Social Studies
• Spanish

School of Music

• Music Education
• Performance/Music Education

Initial New York State Certification

All candidates for initial certification must attain a satisfactory level of performance on three components of the New York State teacher certification examinations: the liberal arts and sciences test (LAST), the assessment of teaching skills-written (ATS-W), and content specialty test (CST) where a CST has been developed.

All students applying for New York State certification are required by the New York State commissioner of education to complete a fingerprint-supported criminal history background check prior to certification.

Information concerning testing dates, sites, and cost is available in the Office of Career Services in Gannett Center or in the Center for Teacher Education at 215 Muller Center.

The initial certificate is valid for five years, during which time the teacher must complete a master's degree and three years of teaching experience, including at least one year of mentored teaching, in order to qualify for the professional certificate.