Center for Teacher Education
The Center for Teacher Education coordinates the several teacher preparation programs at the College and is the central source of information related to the preparation of teachers and the various state requirements for certification. The center promotes faculty development by holding seminars, workshops, and conferences for current teachers, acts as the fulcrum for new program initiatives in teacher preparation, administers externally funded grant programs, and provides instruction in education courses required of students in teacher education programs, as well as elective courses in education.
The center administers the Partnership in Teaching Program, which provides faculty and staff volunteers for the classrooms and laboratories of the local public schools - through classroom visits, evening programs, or minicourses. 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, as is the Science and Mathematics Saturday Academy. The center collaborates with the Ithaca City Schools and the Roy H. Park School of Communications 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.
Ithaca College provides programs that lead to provisional and permanent 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 on file in the Center for Teacher Education and the Office of Career Planning and Placement. New York State has reciprocal teaching certification agreements with numerous other states. Information about reciprocity is on file in the Center for Teacher Education.
Students interested in pursuing teaching as a profession are encouraged to seek out the appropriate department chair or teaching option coordinator in their school, or the Director of the Center for Teacher Education.
Ithaca does not offer a separate degree in elementary education.
When filing for graduation, a student in a teacher certification program must complete an application for certification, available in the Center for Teacher Education. This form is the basis for awarding a provisional certificate from the New York State Education Department.
Provisional teaching certification programs are offered as follows:
Health (K-12)
Physical Education (K-12)
Speech and Hearing Handicapped (K-12)
Biology 7-12
Chemistry 7-12
Physics 7-12
General Science 7-12
English 7-12
French 7-12
German 7-12
Mathematics 7-12
Mathematics-Computer Science 7-12
Mathematics-Economics 7-12
Mathematics-Physics 7-12
Social Studies 7-12
Spanish 7-12
Speech 7-12
Music Education (K-12)
Within each of the humanities and sciences programs leading to provisional certification, there is a core unit of course work that all teaching option candidates must complete in addition to the course work required in their major. College-level study in a language other than English is also required. A copy of specific requirements may be obtained from the coordinator of teacher education for the School of Humanities and Sciences. See p. 220.
All candidates for provisional certification must attain a satisfactory level of performance on two components of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations: the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) and the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W). Passing scores on these two tests have been established as 220 on a scale of 100 to 300.
Information concerning testing dates, sites, and cost is available in the Office of Career Services in the Gannett Center or in the Center for Teacher Education in Muller 217.
Ithaca offers graduate degrees in teacher education in exercise and sport sciences, music, physical education, and speech and hearing handicapped. In order to meet current New York State permanent teaching certification requirements, an individual must possess a master's degree in a "functionally related area," have attained qualifying scores on the required components of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations, and have been employed full time for two years as a teacher.
