Preparing Urban Teachers: Uncovering Communities
(A Community Curriculum for Interns and New Teachers)

Established in 1999, the Urban Teacher Training Collaborative is an innovative school-university, school-based, Master of Arts in Teaching program developed by Tufts University in conjunction with three small Boston Public Schools (the Boston Arts Academy, Fenway High School, and Mission Hill School). The UTTC program, which is an example of the Professional Development School model, reflects the partners' understanding of the needs of urban students and teachers. The UTTC is committed to developing effective, collegial, and reform-minded teachers for city schools.

The mission of the UTTC is to help meet the need for good urban teachers through an innovative model for teacher training similar to the "residency" model used to train medical professionals. Instead of completing a typical ten-week school internship after a semester of university courses, UTTC student teachers—referred to as interns—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.

Most of the interns at the Boston Arts Academy, Fenway High School, and Mission Hill School come from the Urban Teacher Training Collaborative's program at Tufts University, although some are students at Berkelee College, Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Lesley University, Mass College of Art, and Simmons College. Of the 2002-2003 interns, 20 percent were African-American, 15 percent were Asian-American, 10 percent were Hispanic, and 55 percent were white.

Interns start assisting their mentor teacher immediately 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 from all sending universities 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.

From January 2002 to June 2003, with support from MetLife Foundation and Jobs for the Future, the UTTC refined and expanded its efforts to deeply acquaint its interns with the diverse communities and cultures from which their students come. This effort is based on the belief that teacher preparation courses do a great job of focusing on students and content but not on communities or building relationships with adults in schools. The work resulted in this curriculum, Preparing Urban Teachers: Uncovering Communities, as well as a DVD that documents a series of on-site seminars, including the interns' experiences and reflections.

The curriculum, along with its seminars and their sequence, is a work in progress. It is presented to raise challenging questions, stimulate thought, and offer a starting place for teacher educators and district-level administrators. Use it as a guide, one that can be adapted to the particular needs of other communities, to design or refine similar programs for interns or teachers new to urban districts.

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

Watch the Preparing Urban Teachers: Uncovering Communities DVD.

Read Edutopia issue that features a piece about the Boston Arts Academy.