Warner School of Education

A new study, conducted by Warner School Professors Kevin Meuwissen and Jeffrey Choppin and funded by the Spencer Foundation, represents one of the first attempts to document teacher candidates' perspectives of and experiences with edTPA, a new performance assessment for initial teacher certification that gauges beginning teachers' skills and readiness to lead a classroom.

Graduates of the University of Rochester teacher education programs for the 2013-14 year achieved a 100 percent pass rate on new state-required teacher certification assessments.

Joanne Larson, Michael W. Scandling Professor of Education and chair of the teaching and curriculum program at the Warner School, along with Jackie Marsh, professor at the University of Sheffield, U.K., have coauthored the recently published revised edition of Making Literacy Real: Theories and Practices for Learning and Teaching (Sage Publications, 2015). The updated guide examines a variety of literacy theories that challenge current skill-based models and the relevance of these theories in the elementary classroom.

The Warner School will host a “WHY TEACH?” event from noon to 2 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 28, to explore what it takes to become a teacher. The event will provide meaningful conversations about teaching as a career, given the larger educational policy issues impacting educators and K-12 schools today, and highlight the challenges and possibilities of careers in teaching. Registration is free and open to the public.

On Feb. 11, the New York State Education Department delivered its final approval to the plan and budget for the University of Rochester to serve as the Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) for East High School, beginning in July 2015. Additionally, New York State has provided the Rochester City School District (RCSD) a one-time School Improvement grant for $200,000 to further support the planned changes at East High.