Sac State University
The Urban Teacher Education Center (UTEC) is a community-oriented, field-based program for teacher preparation designed to prepare future educators for urban schools and communities.
For further information, contact Dr. Jana Noel, Coordinator of the Urban Teacher Education Center
| CSUS (Sac State University) | Key Principles of the Urban Teacher Education Center The Urban Teacher Education Center has a commitment to the children and families in urban, low income, highly diverse communities, a commitment shared by university faculty, supervisors, teachers, administrators, school personnel, and community groups. UTEC Coordinator Dr. Jana Noel served as a "community liaison" between the university, the school, and the public housing complexes served by the school. Student teachers must spend most of their teacher preparation program in schools and communities in order to better understand the realities of urban education, including the social, political, and economic conditions impacting the lives and education of urban children and their families. By teaching university courses at an urban elementary school and in an urban community, university faculty are able to keep up and increase their understanding of urban settings, enabling them to tie theory to practice immediately. An urban teacher education program can help to make an impact on an urban school and community by spending time in the school and community, getting to know the children and their families, providing high quality teaching, and helping to create new programs for the school. UTEC student teachers served as teachers for the MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program at Jed Smith School. UTEC student teachers volunteer at the Seavey Circle Panthers Success through Mentoring Program,, an after-school tutoring and mentoring program in the Seavey Circle Public Housing Complex..
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| CSUS College of Education | |
| Sacramento City Unified School District | |
| Jedediah Smith School | |
| Great City Schools | |
| Schools Connected with UTEC | Abraham Lincoln, Cesar Chavez, Earl Warren, Ethel I. Baker, Edward Kemble, Father Keith B. Kenny, Hollywood Park, Jedediah Smith, John Bidwell, Joseph Bonnheim, Tahoe, Woodbine |
| Jedediah Smith School Demographics (click here to enlarge) | Demographics of UTEC Schools Overall (click here to enlarge) |
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Free and Reduced Lunch 97% |
Free and Reduced Lunch 85% |
English Language Learners 25% |
English Language Learners 41% |
I like that my teacher helps us learn. (a 6 th grade student)
Moms and dads spend time with their children at the school before the school day begins!
(a university faculty member)
Taking part in the community will help build my credibility with the students and families
and show them that I am there because I care about the students and want to be there.
(a student teacher )
Teachers have dedication and hard work, care, love, and compassion.
It's hard, but rewarding -- emotionally & spiritually draining often,
but enough forward progress is made on a daily basis to allow oneself to
renew & recharge to face another day! (a classroom teacher)
When students say "hello" to me in the hallways, and when I can tell they are happy to see me, it makes me feel proud and happy that I am a part of their positive school experience.
(a student teacher)
The teachers are cool! (a parent)
Key Principles of the Urban Teacher Education Center
The Urban Teacher Education Center (UTEC) is a community-oriented, field-based program for teacher preparation designed to prepare future educators for urban schools and communities. The focus is on low income, highly diverse schools and communities within the Sacramento City Unified School District.
Community-Oriented. A main principle of this teacher preparation program is that in order to effectively educate children in urban settings, teachers must not only know how to teach in classrooms, they must also learn about and engage in the communities of their students. Students in the UTEC will have as an important part of their program the involvement with urban communities. This means that students will learn about the community agencies, community groups, and neighborhood efforts to provide support for children, their families, and their schools, and will be able to take part in the important work of these groups. Students will also learn about sources of knowledge and strength within racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse families and communities and learn how to draw on that within their own work as educators.
Field-Based. The Urban Teacher Education Center is almost entirely field-based. Student teachers will spend most of their teacher preparation program in schools and communities in order to better understand the realities of urban education, including the social, political, and economic conditions impacting the lives and education of urban children and their families. All student teaching will be in the Sacramento City Unified School District, and many of the university courses will be taught at Jedediah Smith Elementary School. By taking courses at a school site, students will have the opportunity to immediately observe and apply what they are learning in their courses, connecting theory directly to practice. Further, students and faculty will be able to draw on the knowledge and experiences of classroom teachers, school personnel, and community members within their courses in the actual elementary school setting.
Become Part of an Urban Education Community. The Urban Teacher Education Center has a commitment to the children and families in urban, low income, highly diverse communities, a commitment shared by university faculty, supervisors, teachers, administrators, school personnel, and community groups. Teacher credential candidates will become part of an urban education community in a supportive environment throughout their three semesters of their teacher preparation program.
Dr. Jana Noel
UTEC Center Coordinator
noelj@csus.edu
(916) 278-5514 (phone)
(916) 278-6643 (fax)