Effective Educators

Preparing Capable, Committed Teachers for Urban Schools

Metro State students who participate in the CUE program undertake an immersion in the culture of the area they serve. They complete urban-centered curricula focused on identified requirements for successful teaching in high-need schools. The program is a two-year preparation that includes two pathways. One for Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education programs and another for Secondary Education.

Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education program participants follow this course: 

Year One: Students explore opportunities for professional teaching practice in urban schools and build a portfolio of their experiences. This exploration includes field experiences in urban school and provides tutoring support for high-need students, participating in special workshops/seminars that examine strategies that address learning needs and other such activities.

Year Two: Students who have shown an understanding of the special needs of urban children and a deep commitment to meeting those needs will be selected as CUE Fellows. These students enter a high quality, one-year undergraduate residency program that will take place within the P-16 Zone. In this setting, students are immersed in the culture of the school and the surrounding community.

Secondary Education program participants follow this course:

Students complete 180 hours of field placements prior to student teaching. As part of UTP, they do this field service and student teaching in our nine urban partner schools (Hill MS, Lake MS, Merrill MS, Bruce Randolph (6-12), Martin Luther King (6-12), East HS, North HS, and Thomas Jefferson HS) where we have built special relationships with school leaders and teachers. Along with the UTP Field Placement Coordinator (a former DPS principal), each school has designated a school liaison to help us place and support students in the school environment. 

We align field placements with designated Secondary Education classes as follows:        

The first 60-hour field placement connects with EDS 3130 – Foundation of Educational Psychology and Philosophy and take place in a partner urban middle school

We associate the second 60-hour field placement with EDS 3220 – Classroom Management, Planning and Assessment in Secondary Schools and take place in a partner high school.

We align the third 60-hour field placement with the major content methods class (for example, English majors take ENG 4640 Teaching English, 7-12) and take place in either a partner middle or high school. Student Teaching will take place in either a partner middle or high school.

In addition to field placements, UTP students have access to multiple resources including paid tutoring positions in partner urban schools, seminars and workshops focused on the needs in urban schools that supplement classroom instruction, scholarships supporting English Language Acquisition (ELA) Endorsement and much more.  

CUE also is developing collaborative induction and mentoring programs to support new teachers, those who are in their first three years of practice within the P-16 Zone schools. These programs will help participants grow toward becoming effective teacher leaders who build strong learning communities around themselves. In addition, CUE’s deep presence in the P-16 Zone schools naturally creates opportunities for college professors and Zone teachers to collaborate on quality professional development for teachers and effective student support services that are customized to the needs of the schools.

Altogether, the program enhances prospective urban teachers’ understanding of the community and children they serve and provides ongoing support to benefit learning at all levels of the P-16 Zone school system.