Important Dates and Information
• College of Education's Dr. Lesniak recipient of National Education Association Grant
A $5,000 grant for a project designed to enhance the learning of science teacher candidates has been awarded by the National Education Association Foundation to Dr. Kathleen Lesniak of the State University at Fredonia College of Education and Milissa Albano, a Fredonia alumna and mentor chemistry teacher at Southwestern Central School.
Budding science educators in Fredonia's new accelerated master of arts in science teaching program will benefit from a study group of veteran secondary teachers, led by Dr. Lesniak and Ms. Albano, who will mentor student teachers. As part of the project, the study group will learn about topics and issues related to successful mentoring of pre-service science teachers by building on mentor teachers' knowledge and experiences and incorporating study of best practices. In addition, the use of collaborative lesson study using digital video will allow the mentor teachers to confer with teacher candidates to improve their teaching knowledge and instruction.
Dr. Lesniak has been a faculty member at Fredonia since 2004 and since 2006 has served as the program coordinator for the undergraduate science education programs and is implementing the master of arts in science teaching program, now in its second year.
Nationwide, the NEA Foundation awarded 51 grants totaling $234,000 to support educators' ideas to improve teaching and learning or professional development efforts.
• College of Education Introduces new Early Childhood/Childhood Education Dual Certification Program
Starting in Spring 2010, SUNY Fredonia held its first classes for students admitted to the new dual certification program in Early Childhood/Childhood Education. Students in the program will receive initial certifications in both Early Childhood Birth-2 and Childhood grades 1-6.
• SUNY Fredonia’s College of Education Receives $500,000 Federal Grant
Senator Charles Schumer’s office recently notified SUNY Fredonia’s College of Education that their five year grant proposal Project RAISE-UP (Redesigning and Improving Special Education - Undergraduate Program) was funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The $500,000 federally-funded grant was written by College of Education faculty Dr. Kathleen Magiera and Dr. Rhea Simmons in collaboration with College of Education Founding Dean Christine Givner. The grant will provide federal dollars to improve the unique special and general education merged teacher preparation program within the College of Education. The Childhood Inclusive Education Program will be redesigned to meet the needs of school age children with disabilities, particularly in rural school districts in the region. Graduates of SUNY Fredonia’s teacher preparation program will receive certification in both special education and general education.
Over five years, SUNY Fredonia faculty and staff will collaborate with local rural school districts to improve the quality of the merged special and general education teacher preparation program. The partnership will focus on revising the SUNY Fredonia teacher preparation curriculum by embedding specific special education content within courses and enhancing the skills of undergraduates in the field to work with families, other educational professionals, and community-based agencies. The project addresses the U.S. Secretary of Education’s priority to improve the quality of K-12 special education teacher preparation programs. Funding for the grant will begin July 1, 2009.
• SUNY Fredonia now offers a Masters in Arts in Teaching (M.A.T) in Adolescence Science Education. For more information, please see the program description listed on the Graduate Studies page.
• SUNY Fredonia students have an opportunity to complete one of their student teaching placements in Australia. 2008 is the first year that Fredonia students took advantage of this unique program. Read more about their adventure into the Australian outback.
• Visit the Campus Report to learn more about our new Childhood Inclusive Education program where students can earn both their certifications in childhood grades 1-6 and students with disabilities 1-6.
• For more Alumni news, please visit the Alumni Affairs page.