Sign Up for a Higher Ed Partnership Interest Meeting Today!

The 2023–2024 school year will be over before you know it. Higher education partnerships offer opportunities to MCPS employees seeking teacher certification or licensure, continuing professional development, or those pursuing career advancement. Don’t delay; sign up today! Register on Professional Development Online (PDO). Upcoming interest meetings are below:

Montgomery College, Culturally Responsive Educators Aspiring for Teaching Excellence (CREATE)
Thursday, May 2, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
RSVP on PDO, course #89298

To be eligible for the CREATE program, employees should be current MCPS support professionals who hold permanent positions. Members of the cohort earn an associate of arts in teaching degree (AAT), the first two years of the required four-year degree. Montgomery College will help employees who are new to college, or who have some college credits, to develop an academic plan that allows students to graduate in two to three years and seamlessly transfer to partner universities to complete the bachelor’s degree required to become a certified teacher.

For more information, email CREATEteachercohort@montgomerycollege.edu or visit the Higher Education Partnerships website. 

Montgomery College ACET
Monday, May 6; 5-6 p.m.
RSVP on PDO, course #87653

MCPS and Montgomery College (MC) are offering the Alternative Certification for Effective Teachers (ACET) program. ACET is an innovative teacher preparation program for individuals who wish to change careers and become teachers in MCPS teaching. For eligible employees with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree who are seeking teacher certification, MC offers the ACET program in the following critical need areas:

• Secondary: Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Technology Education and English
• Middle School: Mathematics and Science
• World Languages: French and Spanish (placement in middle and high schools, with PreK-12 certification)

Candidates must have a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA of 2.75, expertise in the selected teaching field as supported by coursework, experience and qualifying assessment scores. For more information, contact Dr. Glenda Hernandez Tittle or visit the Higher Education Partnerships website.

Bowie State University Reading, Literacy Master’s Program
Tuesday, May 7; 4:30–5:30 p.m. 
RSVP on PDO, course #91696

This online graduate program in Reading/Literacy Education from Bowie State University leads to a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree. The program prepares graduate candidates on literacy instruction and for leadership experiences for transitioning into the role of a reading specialist. 

Classroom teachers who are not interested in a specialist leadership position may also consider the program to gain current research-based information to help with effective literacy instruction with a focus on racially, culturally, linguistically and socioeconomically diverse students. 

The program is guided by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the International Literacy Association (ILA), Maryland Cultural Proficiency and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards.

For more information, contact Dr. Jacquelyn Sweeney or visit the Higher Education Partnerships website. A flyer is available here.

Johns Hopkins University, Special Education Teacher Immersion Training (SET-IT) Program
Wednesday, May 8, 5–6 p.m.
RSVP on PDO, course #87107

The JHU SET-IT (Special Education Teacher Immersion Training) master’s degree program has two focus areas: elementary/middle school (grades 1–8) and secondary/adult levels (grades 6–12) in special education. For this two-year program, participants will work for MCPS as special education paraeducators during the day and take JHU courses in the evening. A flyer for this information session is available here.

For more information, contact Alexandra Shelton or visit the Higher Education Partnerships website.

Notre Dame of Maryland University
Thursday, May 23, 6-7 p.m.
RSVP on PDO, course #87163

Notre Dame of Maryland University will host an information session to review course offerings. While there will be an overview of all programs in the Department of Education, the bachelor’s degree pathway for certification in ESOL or special education and the graduate-level pathway (a non-degree, graduate-level, state-approved teacher education program leading to initial certification in ESOL, special education, math, computer science or Spanish) are the two MCPS partnership programs.

For more information, contact Sarah Gruen or visit the Higher Education Partnerships website.