Refer to the Hofstra University Graduate Studies Bulletin for information about graduate programs offered by the School of Education.

Office: Second Floor, Hagedorn Hall
Telephone: (516) 463-5740
Sean A. Fanelli, Interim Dean
Karin J. Spencer, Senior Associate Dean
Karleen M. Edwards, Associate Dean for Educational Support Services
Donna D. Levinson, Associate Dean of External Relations and Recruitment
John Lewis, Assistant Dean of Professional Development
Anthony Robinson, Assistant Dean for Special Programs

Edward J. Zero, Executive Director, Center for Scholarship, Development & Outreach
Ann Marie Ginsberg, Interim Director of Field Placement
Liudmila Patokina, Director of Program Support
Stacey Zalewski, Director of Certification and Licensure
Monica Conforti, Recruiter for Graduate Education
Margaret Carlock-Russo, Recruiter for Graduate Health and Human Services

Hofstra University prides itself in having an “all-University approach” to teacher education. Since 1935 our history has been one of a four-year liberal arts college that early on expanded to serve the needs of such future professionals as engineers, business people and professional educators. Unlike many other institutions that began as teacher training colleges and later added a liberal arts component, Hofstra University enjoys a duality between liberal and professional studies, but is based on a University mission which places a liberal arts education of undergraduates in overriding priority.

Students should consult the my.hofstra.edu portal for specific offerings and consult with an adviser before registering for their programs.

Mission of the School of Education

The faculty of the Hofstra University School of Education are dedicated to the preparation of reflective and knowledgeable professionals who use scholarship to inform their practice. Collectively, we strive toward a more just, open and democratic society as we collaborate with and learn from children, adolescents, and adults in diverse social and cultural settings.

We encourage and support the scholarship and practice of our colleagues and students in their professional lives; our endeavors include research that contributes to the knowledge base for both educators and health and human services professionals. Thus, it is our intent to establish the School of Education as a place which nurtures communication, collaboration, and leadership both at Hofstra and in community settings.

For undergraduate academic programs, the goals of the School of Education include:

1. The cooperative education of students well-rounded both professionally and in the liberal arts;
2. The first professional training of entry-level professionals who will serve in the public and independent schools of the region and nation;
3. The development of analytic skills and sound judgments applied to content and also to professional issues; the ability to make warranted and thoughtful decisions about curriculum issues and student-related issues as well as issues relating to the conduct of the schools/agencies/organizations and the profession;
4. To set the groundwork for continued learning by the new professional, whether that learning is through job-related experiences or graduate study applicable toward professional certification.

The School is comprised of the following departments and their undergraduate programs or courses:

Special Education (SPED)
    Special Education (SPED)
Health Studies and Kinesiology (HSK)
    Athletic Training (PESP)
    Exercise Science (PESP)
    Health Education (HED)
    Physical Education (PESP)
Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership (TLL)
    Early Childhood Education (ELED)
    Educational Studies (EDST)
    Elementary Education (ELED)
    Literacy Studies (LYST)
    Reading (READ)
    Secondary Education (SED)
                Business Education (SED)
                Dance Education (SED)
                English Education (SED)
                Fine Arts Education (SED)
                Foreign Languages Education (SED)
                Mathematics Education (SED)
                Music Education (SED)
                Science Education (SED)
                Social Studies Education (SED)
                Music (SED)

Accreditation and Certification

The teacher education and educational leadership programs of the School of Education are fully accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). The accreditation includes the initial and advanced levels of professional education programs offered within the School.

Hofstra University’s School of Education programs are registered with the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Studies offered at the bachelor’s, master’s, advanced certificate, and doctoral levels are provided in the following teaching areas: early childhood (Birth-Grade 2); elementary education (Grades 1-6); secondary education (Grades 7-12); special subjects: dance, fine arts, family and consumer science, music, health, and physical education (all grades); and special education, TESOL, bilingual, literacy, and speech and language disabilities. Non-classroom areas include pupil personnel services and educational administration.

Upon the successful completion of a Hofstra state-approved teacher education program, students are eligible for the University’s recommendation for New York state certification. A request for recommendation must be submitted to the Office of Educational Support Services the semester in which the student is graduating. There will be opportunities to attend a certification workshop during the student’s final semester, to receive all the necessary information regarding applying for certification. Students who apply directly to New York state for certification are responsible for learning about and satisfying the certification requirements set by the state. It should be noted that such requirements may differ from those in Hofstra’s registered programs.

All prospective early childhood (Birth-Grade 2), elementary (Grades 1-6) and secondary (Grades 7-12), special subject teachers and educational leaders are required to pass the New York State Teachers Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) administered by National Evaluation Systems, Inc., for state certification requirements. Students should consult with the Office of Educational Support Services regarding the appropriate examinations for their area of study.

We anticipate that teacher and school building leader candidates applying for certification on or after May 1st, 2014, will be required to take certain new exams. At the February 2012 meeting, the New York State Board of Regents approved a change to the implementation schedule for the new testing requirements for the initial certification of teachers and school building leaders. Please contact the office of Education Support Services at Hofstra University at (516) 463-5747 or consult the state website.

For candidates graduating prior to May 2013 it is strongly recommended that students complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) prior to student teaching, and the Assessment of Teaching Skills Written (ATS-W) and the Content Specialty Test (CST) during student teaching. Students not receiving passing scores on these examinations will not be eligible for certification.

In addition to fulfilling the required courses of study, the Commissioner’s Regulations mandate that all prospective teachers, pupil personnel and education leaders receive instructions regarding:

1.   Identification of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
2. Fire and Arson Prevention
3. School Violence Prevention and Intervention
4. Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Abuse
5. Highway and School Safety/Prevention of Child Abduction

New York state legislation also requires all persons seeking certification in special education, speech and language disabilities or school administrators working in special education, to have training in the area of children with autism.

Hofstra University offers the above listed educational law seminars through the Office of Educational Support Services. All of these seminars must be completed before the conferral of the degree and recommendation for certification.

Hofstra University has maintained the following passing rates on these examinations for 2010-2011: 

* combined undergraduate and graduate initial preparation programs

As a part of the continuing effort to improve teacher preparation, the New York State Board of Regents adopted amendments to the Commissioner’s Regulations which directly relate to teacher education program requirements, as well as changes in teacher certification titles.

Chapter 180 of the Laws of 2000, the Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE), requires that applicants for teaching and administrative certification and prospective employees of covered schools (school districts, charter schools and BOCES) undergo a fingerprint-supported criminal history background check. However, many school districts and institutions across the metropolitan New York area are now requiring that all student teachers, observers, interns or externs receive fingerprint clearance before they are permitted to enter a school setting. Obtaining fingerprinting clearance will facilitate our ability to place you in educational settings that are required for a degree program. Therefore, we request that you apply for fingerprint clearance upon acceptance to a program. Fingerprinting can be completed through Hofstra University using LIVESCAN technology, arranged by the Office of Educational Support Services each semester. You may contact us at 516-463-5747 or visit Hagedorn Hall, Room 129. You may also register online. Fingerprint clearance is also required for New York state certification. 

New York state has interstate contracts with 42 other states and jurisdictions. Persons prepared in one of the contract states and who meet the contract requirements of the interstate agreement, are eligible for an initial certificate upon application with each individual state. States not participating in the above reciprocity system will accept certificate applications and evaluate them on an individual basis. For additional information on interstate reciprocity, students should visit the Office of Educational Support Services. Information can be found on the Office of Educational Support Services webpage under “certification.” Students may obtain detailed and current information about certification requirements in various educational majors from the School’s Office of Educational Support Services.

School of Education courses may not be applied toward liberal arts credit unless otherwise noted

Policy on Ethical and Professional Performance

Students are expected to behave in an ethical and professional manner according to the guidelines for student conduct and academic honesty at Hofstra University and to the professional standards identified in their respective programs in the School of Education. Satisfactory interpersonal behavior and professional performance in classes and meetings, student teaching, internships, and practica are expected. If a report is received concerning an ethics violation, or an incident of inappropriate behavior as defined by the Student Judicial Code, established University procedures will be followed to investigate the issue and determine the course of action.

It is our policy that if a student is dismissed from two schools/placements before and/or during the student teaching semester, that student will be considered for dismissal from the teacher education program and may be counseled out of the program. Certification requirements will not be met and the student will not be recommended for certification by Hofstra University.

Programs

A program is a coherent sequence of course work and fieldwork designed to develop the professional competence of degree candidates. Programs offered by the School of Education are classified as either initial or professional. The initial programs are for students seeking their first teaching certification whether at the undergraduate or the graduate level or are preparing for entry-level positions in selected allied human services fields (non-school based). Professional programs are designed for individuals already certified (provisional or initial) to teach and those experienced as teachers (e.g., in private schools) and who wish to pursue advanced studies in a specialized field of education, and those who wish to pursue advanced studies in a specialized field in selected allied human services. Consult the Hofstra University Graduate Studies Bulletin and individual departments for advisement and specific program information.

The School of Education also offers co-major programs to undergraduate students interested in education as an additional field of study and inquiry. Students should consult individual departments for advisement.

To locate information about preparation programs for teaching and other educational roles, and roles in selected human services, consult the chart for Undergraduate Initial Teacher Preparation Programs. Use the chart to identify the schools and departments offering the program of interest.

Undergraduate Initial Teacher Preparation Programs

Degree candidates are admitted after application to specific programs within the School of Education. Undergraduate degree candidates typically successfully complete a prescribed distribution of liberal arts and sciences course work, designated by each program before admission to the program. Enrollment is open to students showing dispositions that indicate potential as teachers of children and youth. Judgments concerning these dispositions are accumulated in reports, on field-based experiences from several of the students’ instructors, including faculty in liberal arts and education and cooperating teachers in the schools. Prospective teachers should obtain applications from the proper department in the School of Education even though initial enrollment may be in the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, New College for Interdisciplinary Studies for Interdisciplinary Studies, the Zarb School of Business or the School of Communication.

Enrollment

Prospective teachers in the following fields enroll as majors in the School of Education: dance education, fine arts education, music education, health education, and physical education. Preparation for teaching in early childhood and elementary schools requires dual enrollment in either a bachelor of arts program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (excluding dance, drama, fine arts, music and speech-language-hearing sciences) or the bachelor of arts degree program in Speech Communication, Rhetoric, and Performance Studies in the School of Communication, as well as in the School of Education for completion of the professional education courses leading to the co-major. Students preparing to teach in secondary schools enroll in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or the Zarb School of Business as a major in a teaching content and co-major in secondary education. The chart is a guideline of teaching fields and their respective departments.

A student preparing to teach early childhood, elementary, or secondary education should, by the beginning of the sophomore year, select a co-major in the appropriate college. With an adviser from the chosen department, the student should develop an approved plan of study which satisfies the requirements of that department as well as the School of Education program. Students preparing to teach art, dance or music should enroll in the Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership during the freshman year. Students preparing to teach physical education or health education should enroll in the Department of Health Professions and Kinesiology during the freshman year.

Frequently it is necessary for students to take more than the minimum 124 semester hours for graduation in order to meet the subject requirements of their academic department in the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Communication or the Zarb School of Business* and the teacher education requirements of the School of Education. 

*Note:  Zarb School of Business minimum is 128 semester hours for graduation.

Prerequisites for Teacher Candidates

Undergraduate students preparing to teach at the early childhood, elementary or secondary level need to apply to the Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership the beginning of the sophomore year.
   
Admission to the program is based on a comprehensive review of multiple criteria, including the following:

    * A completed application to the program.
    * In the case of elementary education,
          o a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in overall course work;
          o a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in liberal arts course work.
    * In the case of secondary education,
          o a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in overall course work;
          o a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in the area(s) in which certification is sought.
    * A written personal statement of professional intent and rationale.
    * Two letters of reference that address the applicant’s potential to succeed in the teaching profession. An interview, audition, and/or portfolio requirements in some programs).

The department understands that any single criterion may not reliably predict a candidate’s potential for success in the program. Consequently, candidates are welcome to apply if they do not meet one of the criteria but feel that other aspects of their experience may compensate.

Undergraduate students should plan with their liberal arts adviser to take the majority of their distribution and liberal arts co-major courses before the junior year. During the upper junior year and the lower senior year, early childhood and elementary education majors will respectively need to plan to alternate a semester of mornings and a semester of afternoons in order to participate in Birth-6 schools. The upper senior year requires full-day student teaching.

Early childhood and elementary education candidates should select a foundations of education course (FDED 111 or 127) during the first semester of the sophomore year. Once they have been accepted by the Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership they should also submit a Change of Major form (to declare two majors) to the Office of Academic Records. This form should be signed by program advisers in both areas of study.

Secondary education candidates should register initially in FDED 111 or 127, SED 102 and SED 151. These courses may be taken in any order or concurrently; these courses fulfill prerequisite requirements for continued studies in the undergraduate secondary education professional sequence.

Junior standing is a prerequisite to enrollment in all courses offered by the School of Education except ELED 41, SED 102, SED 151, all foundations of education and many physical education courses.

Student Teaching: is the final phase of the professional education sequence. Students must formally apply to the Office of Field Placement well in advance of the intended student teaching semester.

Applications for Fall student teaching are due February 15; applications for Spring student teaching are due May 1 of the previous year. Students should refer to their program as listed in this Bulletin for details on prerequisites and minimum grade point average requirements for student teaching

Selection Process

The School of Education has implemented a policy of careful initial and continuing selection of students and courses offered by the School. Generally, courses are not open to students who have not been accepted into the School of Education. Exceptions are courses in foundations of education, educational psychology, health and physical education.

At the end of the sophomore year students who have applied for enrollment in the School of Education will be assigned by the selection offices to one of three categories:

Accepted, meaning that an applicant may continue in teacher education at Hofstra;

Accepted provisionally, in secondary education, meaning that an applicant may continue work in professional education although specified deficiencies must be made up;

Rejected, meaning that an applicant may not enroll in any course offered by the School.

Students who have been accepted may be dropped from programs in education at a later date in cases where academic performance, judgments of field-experience supervisors and cooperating school personnel or other factors make such steps advisable.

University Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Science

The Department of Health Studies and Kinesiology offers the following programs leading to the Bachelor of Science degree:

    Athletic Training 
    Community Health 
    Exercise Science 
    Health Education 
    Health Science 

Bachelor of Arts

The Department of Teaching, Literacy, and Leadership  offers a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree with a co-major in the liberal arts combined with one of the following: early childhood education, elementary education, dual certification in early childhood and elementary education, or secondary education.

Bachelor of Science in Education

For the students taking programs (art , dance , music , physical education ) leading to the Bachelor of Science in Education degree, the following requirements must be fulfilled:

1. The successful completion of the required semester hours for the major and a cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 (physical education) or 2.75 (art, dance, music) in work completed at Hofstra.
2. The liberal arts requirement for the specialization must be fulfilled.
3. There are two requirements that must ordinarily be completed in residence at Hofstra: the minimum semester hours in the field of specialization, and the last 30 semester hours. See specific program for requisites.
4. The following general requirements, as listed under each specialization:
   

   WSC 001  and 002  or placement examination
   Humanities
   Natural science
   Social science

5. The major and additional requirements as stated under the field of study.

School-Based Employment Opportunities

Hofstra University and faculty in the School of Education are committed both to attracting excellent candidates to our programs, as well as assisting them in locating employment upon graduation. Teaching candidates are strongly encouraged before enrolling in a given program to review the employment prospects in their chosen field. Such opportunities, of course, differ among teaching areas and within regions of the country. Data about the profession, including supply and demand by region and certification area, are routinely available and updated regularly on such Web sites as www.highered.nysed.gov, www.bls.gov/oco or www.vault.com (accessible via the MyApps feature of the Hofstra Portal). Additionally, The Hofstra Career Center provides students with complimentary copies of the American Association for Employment in Education’s Job Search Handbook which contains a wide array of resources including a supply and demand feature.

Potential candidates for teaching careers, as well as those nearing graduation, should visit the Hofstra Career Center in the M. Robert Lowe Hall on the Hofstra campus. A wide range of services are available to future educators. Such services include: career counseling in job hunting, assistance with résumé building, mock interviews, lists of school districts across the nation, an on-campus interview program, and an online job/internship posting and credential file service. Most students, especially those hoping to gain employment with area and out-of-state school districts, use the Hofstra Career Center to focus their search and coordinate initial interviews.

The Hofstra Career Center’s Web site hofstra.edu/career contains an array of resources and information for students enrolled in an education program. Additionally, the site refers students to our own Pride-Career Management System where both local and national employers post employment opportunities, and outside web sites such as, the New York State Education Department, New York City Department of Education, the National Association of Independent Schools, and many more dedicated employment sites. At Hofstra, education majors find an excellent and dedicated faculty, outstanding career support services, and extensive electronic links to education career information and employment opportunities.