NDMU, St. John join forces with programs for graduate students

Notre Dame of Maryland University continued its push to diversify its educational options.

The North Baltimore college and the Annapolis-based St. John’s College Graduate Institute announced a new partnership: the Joint Master’s-Level Teaching Certification. The program will allow Graduate Institute students to earn a Liberal Arts Education Certificate through St. John’s College and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Notre Dame in just two years of study, certifying them to teach.

The announcement came on the heels of the college announcing in April that it had formed a nursing degree partnership with Mount St. Mary’s University and its decision earlier in the year to become a co-educational undergraduate school.

St. John’s College President Nora Demleitner and Notre Dame President Marylou Yam – joined by Graduate Institute Dean Emily Langston, Notre Dame Provost Martha Walker, Notre Dame’s School of Education Dean Kathryn Doherty, students, faculty and staff – signed a memorandum of understanding to officially launch the program.

“Through this partnership, Notre Dame of Maryland University and St. John’s College will prepare more certified teachers to fill critical positions in Maryland classrooms,” said Yam in a statement released by the university. “Notre Dame continues to play a leadership role in addressing the state’s teacher shortage as one of Maryland’s top providers of certified teachers and a top producer of Teachers of the Year. We are excited to expand our reach to prepare St. John’s graduates for the opportunity to become highly qualified educators.”

“This partnership just makes sense,” said Demleitner in the media release. “All classes at St. John’s are conducted in the same way: by reading a ‘great’ text – one that continually elicits deep questioning about the human experience and our place in the world – and discussing it rigorously around a table. Our pedagogy creates great teachers because it exemplifies ‘learning by doing’: everyone around the table acts as both teacher and learner simultaneously.”

Students will take 18 credit hours of classes for the Liberal Arts Education Certificate, either in person at one of the St. John’s College campuses located in Annapolis or Santa Fe, N.M., or online through the college’s “low residency” program. Those credit hours will then be applied to Notre Dame’s Master of Arts in Teaching, which can be completed online or in person at the university’s Baltimore campus.

Students will then be eligible take a teaching exam in any state where they would like to have a teaching certification in accordance with the certification requirements of that state. Many graduates from Notre Dame’s MAT program earn teacher certifications in two specialization areas, which increases their opportunities for meaningful employment.

Also last month, NDMU announced plans to address the national teacher shortage with a $249,553 state grant to provide a pathway for paraprofessionals to earn a bachelor’s degree and special education certification through a degree apprenticeship program – the first of its kind in Maryland.

NDMU’s Elevates program is a 60-credit pilot initiative made possible through a grant awarded by the Maryland State Department of Education and through partnerships with John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore and Harbour School in Annapolis.

Six paraprofessionals at John Ruhrah are participating in the program, including Yara Henriquez and Anthi Roufas-Kamos. Henriquez is a paraeducator at John Ruhrah for students whose first language is not English. She attended middle school at John Ruhrah after arriving from Honduras as a sixth-grader with no English skills. Now she works with children who are learning English while in school. Roufas-Kamos has been a paraeducator at John Ruhrah since 2007 and is excited for the opportunity to become a certified special educator.

“The School of Education is proud to have this opportunity to increase access to higher education for paraprofessionals in our partner schools who may not otherwise have the resources to move forward as a certified teacher,” said Dr. Kathryn Doherty, dean of NDMU’s School of Education, in a media release. “NDMU’s Elevates is an innovative program that builds on the rigor of the School of Education curriculum, while recognizing the extensive on-the-job experience that paraprofessionals and support staff bring to their work every day. It is a nontraditional pathway to transform lives, and places us at the forefront of new models of education to serve diverse communities.”

Participants will earn 15 credits through 144 hours of traditional coursework. The remaining 45 credits will be obtained via 2,000 hours of training through a unique apprenticeship, which includes a yearlong internship with a mentor teacher and completion of competency-based activities and experiences. After completing all requirements for degree completion and certification, participants will be required to teach in their sponsoring school system for a minimum of two years.

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