University of Houston-Downtown

In this program, students will participate in two semesters of field work, requiring a minimum of 60 hours of classroom field experience (over two semesters), and one semester of full-day student teaching.

In addition to the coursework and school-based training, there are four Urban Education student organizations that offer opportunities for students to attend conferences, receive professional development, and serve the community around a common education-related interest.

Active engagement in local classrooms allows candidates ample opportunity to practice and teach and be well prepared with hands-on experience. In our program, students partake in 60 hours of field experience before they do a full semester of student teaching.

Paraprofessionals or Teaching Assistants who join our program while working at a school district may apply to do their school-based training on their current campus.

The heart of UHD's Department of Education Program is to prepare teachers to help all students achieve academic and personal growth.

We equip teachers to support students with varied language backgrounds by ensuring that all of our graduates are prepared for bilingual or ESL certification.

Our graduates are prepared to collaborate with students, families and colleagues from different backgrounds, as a focus on fairness and respect is woven throughout our coursework and school-based training.

During the professional development semesters, students recieve support from a mentor teacher and supervisor.

Some of our best teacher mentors are graduates from our program. Tina St. Clair, a UHD alumna, teaches fourth grade at Hicks Elementary in Alief ISD and serves as a district partner to the Department of Urban Education by mentoring interns and student teachers. Tina's campus has named her as their "Teacher of the Year," and she is one of four finalists for receiving the same honor at the district level.