Undergraduate Programs in Childhood (Elementary) Education (grades 1-6)

The College of Saint Rose is renowned in the field of education for producing teachers who are well trained and highly qualified. Our high passing rate on teacher certification exams ranks Saint Rose as one of the top teacher education programs in New York state, along with Teachers College of Columbia University, New York University and Syracuse University.

As a Saint Rose elementary education graduate, you will be well prepared for teaching in your own elementary school classroom and reaching our nation’s children through your creativity and knowledge of 21st century teaching methods.
 

Passion. Knowledge. Purpose.

As a childhood (elementary) education major at The College of Saint Rose, you will:

• build a professional portfolio that highlights your teaching experiences and lesson planning ability; 
• have diverse teaching experiences in urban, suburban, and rural school districts, as well as in after-school programs; and 
• gain critical experience in inclusive classrooms. You also will choose from among eight academic concentrations which are comprised of 30-33 credits and designed to prepare you for teaching the New York state learning standards in grades 1-6 recently passed by the New York state Board of Regents. The School of Education faculty actively collaborates with faculty in the various content-area disciplines to provide extensive advisement for students throughout the program.

Concentrations include:

• American Studies 
• Biology 
• Computing and Logic
• Earth Science 
• English/Language Arts 
• General Science 
• Mathematics 
• Social Studies
• Spanish

Grades 7-9 Extension

Saint Rose offers all elementary education majors the unique opportunity to extend their teaching certification to grades 7-9 in their concentration area. The coursework for the concentration provides most of the required coursework to obtain the grades 7-9 extension. Extensions are available for English, languages other than English, math, social studies, biology, chemistry, earth science and physics.

 

Our Mentoring Faculty

The School of Education faculty will guide you as you travel on your journey from student teacher to education professional. Each professor is a practitioner and informed scholar who has valuable classroom experience. They’ve been there, at the front of the class looking out at a sea of young faces, each child at a different learning level. Saint Rose faculty members regularly publish and present at regional, state, national and international conferences, providing their students with the opportunity to participate in a scholarly community and exposing them to various resources for continued professional development.

Kappa Delta Pi
The School of Education holds a charter in Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society for educators—a prestigious organization to which many Saint Rose education professors belong. Students who are in the top 15-20 percent of their degree program and who are recommended by faculty are invited to membership in Kappa Delta Pi.

Field Experience

In the elementary education program, all field experiences are linked to coursework and you will complete 100 hours of field experience in various education settings including urban, suburban, rural and high-needs districts as well as at a variety of grade levels prior to student teaching. Several courses have field experience requirements that range from 10 to 20 hours each and the faculty members who teach the courses supervise each experience.

Student Teaching 
The elementary education student teaching component consists of two seven and one-half-week student teaching placements in grades 1-3 and 4-6. During the first week of each placement, you will conduct an analysis of the classroom, school, school district and surrounding community in an effort to better understand your experience and help you more effectively meet the needs of your pupils.

Facilities

Our current School of Education facilities include:
 

• Curriculum Library—includes educational materials for children, examples of textbooks used in elementary schools, teacher resources for planning and teaching, and curriculum guides from the New York State Education Department and various school districts; 
• Test Library and Children’s Book Collection—students can utilize these resources for their planning and instruction in field experiences and while student teaching; 
• Education Microcomputer Laboratory—20 microcomputer stations and a library of educational software to help students acquire technology skills that will enhance their teaching and employment prospects; 
• Neil Hellman Library—contains over 200,987 volumes, 945 periodical subscriptions and a collection of 265,734 microfilms. Membership in the Capital District Library Council and OCLC network provide access to materials from libraries nationwide through inter library loan. The library’s public workstations provide access to the online catalog, CD-ROM databases and the World Wide Web; and 
• •Pauline K. Winkler Speech-Language-Hearing Center—offers preschool programs for children with special needs. Here, elementary education majors complete observations and gain hands-on experience without leaving the Saint Rose campus

Careers

As a Saint Rose elementary education graduate, you will be the highly skilled and experienced teacher that potential employers are looking for. The College’s Career Development Center works closely with the School of Education to provide career services including teacher job fairs and workshops which have resulted in significant numbers of education graduates acquiring teaching positions in the Capital Region and nationwide, since New York has reciprocal certification agreements with various states in the Northeast.

Graduate Study

The bachelor’s degree in elementary education that you earn from Saint Rose will grant you initial certification in this field. However, in order to gain professional certification, you must earn a master’s degree in elementary education or a related field such as special education, literacy, early childhood education, or middle level education in order to obtain professional certification. While some of our students pursue graduate study at other institutions, many education graduates choose to pursue their master’s degrees with the faculty they have come to respect as mentors. The College of Saint Rose has one of the lowest tuitions of all New York state private colleges and we offer a variety of scholarships, including multicultural and academic talent. More than 90% of our students receive several forms of financial aid.