Tomorrow's Teachers

High school students interested in the Future Teacher Academy at Kean (FTA-KEAN) also have the opportunity to participate in the Tomorrow’s Teachers Program. Students that enroll in Tomorrow’s Teachers register for a dual-credit course for high school juniors and seniors who aspire to become teachers. This course is taught by trained teacher leaders that work collaboratively with Kean faculty.  This ultimately will jump-start students’ college transcripts by earning (3) college credits at the same time they are completing requirements for high school graduation.  

Teacher leader training is conducted through the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention & Advancement (CERRA) and Kean’s College of Education. High School students enrolled in Kean’s Tomorrow’s Teachers Program must meet the New Jersey Department of Education requirements for Kean’s EMSE 2800 Clinical Experience course. These requirements include 50 hours of observation in diverse and inclusive settings and a minimum of 45 contact hours of instruction. EMSE 2800 outcomes include opportunities for experiential learning, recognizing how instruction is linked to theories of teaching and learning, developing classroom management strategies and initial exposure to the edTPA Portfolio. 

The EMSE 2800 coursework for Tomorrow’s Teachers is designed to build upon these four basic objectives:

Exploration: Explore various school settings such as inclusion, ESL, and Bilingual Education via field trips to school sites and shadow teaching.
Commitment: Examine beliefs and predispositions of self and others, historical and current issues in education, as well as the role of government and the courts play in school policy.
Preparation: Design and develop in-depth lesson plans and classroom demonstrations. Engage in preparation for the transition to college via skill-building and SAT review.
Experience: Participate in a formal internship, reflect on learning through journals and begin the edTPA portfolio.