M.A.T. Middle and High School: UTTC

Established in 1999, the Urban Teacher Training Collaborative was designed as an innovative partnership between the Tufts University Master of Arts in Teaching Program and three small Boston Public Schools (the Boston Arts Academy, Fenway High School, and Mission Hill School). The program has been re-named the Urban Education Scholars Program and now extends to the Somerville and Malden School districts.

Tufts faculty, and the faculty and administrators of participating schools in the Urban Education Scholars Program, are committed to improving urban education, and share a common vision of teaching, learning, and assessment, and a deep understanding of how research should be used to inform practice.

Instead of completing a typical ten-week school internship after a semester of university courses, Tufts Urban Scholars serve as student teachers, or interns, and work at their assigned schools full-time under the guidance of mentor teachers and university professors, starting on the first day of school and ending in May.

Intern/Scholars start out assisting their mentor teacher and participate in all the usual activities of teachers, including staff meetings and special programs. To fulfill their degree requirements, three of their graduate courses are taught at the school site. In addition, interns attend seven half-day site-based seminars in the fall, co-taught by a Tufts University professor and a Fenway High School teacher who is also the intern coordinator.

The Urban Education Scholars program plays an essential role in probing the issues and impact of race, class, and gender in teacher training and student achievement. This innovative program continues to sustain a strong partnership between Tufts and local progressive urban schools.

View profiles of past and current Urban Education Scholars (video).

Download a PDF of the complete curriculum for interns and new teachers.

Watch the Preparing Urban Teachers: Uncovering Communities movie clip.

Read Edutopia issue with a feature article about the Boston Arts Academy.