Center for the Improvement of Education

Purpose: The Center for the Improvement of Education was established to and continues to support collaborations with schools primarily for the preparation of teachers. These collaborations go beyond the relationships developed to support student teaching to the professional development school model where collaborative relations are reciprocal and focus is on both preservice and inservice teacher preparation. The College and School jointly plan and provide professional development that enhances the quality of education for children and Queens College students completing field components of their programs. The emphasis is on quality teaching for urban culturally diverse populations.

History: The Center for the Improvement of Education was established by John Lidstone (former Dean of Education) to house the Louis Armstrong Middle School collaboration and other school collaborations in1980. It has served this purpose for the past 24 years. Over that time, the collaboration has been supported by grants from the Board of Education that averaged $150,000. Each year, the collaboration supported a cohort of graduate students who completed a Master’s Degree in Education and a year long internship at the Louis Armstrong Middle School. A competitive grant of $1,250,000 for five years from the U. S. Department of Education was obtained for the recruitment of underrepresented groups and their preparation as special educators with expertise in inclusion practices and multicultural education. Students in this program completed a year-long internship at Louis Armstrong Middle School where they participated in a range of inclusionary special education models. In 2000, the Center obtained a 5 year grant at $250,000 per year from the Board of Education to conduct a middle school mathematics teacher education program to enhance the teaching skills of middle school mathematics teachers in the Borough of Queens and provide preparation for certification in mathematics education. That grant lapsed after three years as the Board of Education reorganized into the Department of Education and the New York State Education Department initiated a new requirement for the certification of all classroom teachers.

Goals: The Center for the Improvement of Education seeks to strengthen the preparation of teachers for urban culturally diverse schools and enhance urban schools through collaborations for professional and program development.

• Engage in collaborative agreements with public schools to strengthen the preparation of teachers for urban culturally diverse schools;
• Align College and School expectations and activities of preservice teachers during student teaching;
• Promote and support research and inquiry activities by faculty and school-based educators to increase the knowledge base for excellent, equitable and ethical teacher education for urban schools;
• Support school efforts to improve instruction and enhance student learning and achievement;
• Involve school-based practioners in College teacher preparation programs.

Current Status: The collaboration with the Louis Armstrong Middle School is currently the focus of efforts by the Office of the President, the Borough President, and Region 4 to reinstate funding. In addition, the Division of Education is organizing its other collaborations within the Center including Townsend Harris, PS 499, and the developing Queens School of Inquiry: An Early College Secondary School. Funding for these collaborations will provide the support needed for faculty participation and research and program development activities in these schools.

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