The National At-Risk Education Network

Graduate Study Programs

Below you will find descriptions for the following graduate-level programs in At-Risk Education (note that some information may be outdated — check the individual university or college's website or calendar for up-to-date information):

• Marian College Students At-Risk Strand
• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Alternative Education Programs Licensure (AEPL) Program
• Gonzaga University At-Risk Concentration Description
• Harvard University Risk & Prevention Program
• University of West Florida Alternative Educator Training Program
• Park University Master of Education (At Risk)
• College of Santa Fe (New Mexico) 5-Year BA/MA with Focus on At-Risk Youth
• Lock Haven University of PA M.Ed. (Alternative Education Studies Program)
• George Mason University Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning

If you are aware of any other institutions offering At-Risk Teacher Education Programs, please let us know at info@naren.info and we will include them on this site.

Marian College (Fond du Lac, WI)
Students At-Risk Strand

The Students-At-Risk strand will prepare educators to more effectively meet the needs of at-risk students in the classroom. Graduate students will design and conduct an action research project that will aid them in reaching the at-risk student. Students will also be encouraged to become at-risk coordinators in their schools and continue their effort to meet the needs of at-risk students.

Contact Information

Bob Bohnsack
Marian College
45 S. National Avenue
Fond du Lac, WI 54935
Tel: 1-800-2-MARIAN
Email: bbohnsack@marian College.edu
Visit the website

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Whitewater, WI)
Alternative Education Programs Licensure (AEPL) Program

Description

The traditional school environment is becoming less effective for an increasing number of students. Reality shows this is especially true for at-risk, vulnerable and disengaged students. In response, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has designated a specific license endorsement for educators working in alternative educational settings or attempting to adapt methods and curriculum within regular school settings. Alternative education specialists work with school districts to develop programs for "last chance" students, including jail of detentions-based education, credit acceleration, behavior-focused programs, or simply the opportunity to come back to school and graduate. To assist teachers in recognizing and developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to work in alternative education, the Curriculum & Instruction Department at UW-Whitewater offers a sequence of courses leading to the Alternative Education (952) license.

Curriculum

The AEPL Program consists of four two-credit on-line courses. The courses are scheduled so the program can be completed online in one summer or over one academic year.

• SECNDED 705: Representing Learning (2 credits)

  Methods of representing what we know of the perceived and experienced world.

  Offered during the first eight weeks of each fall semester and during the first three-week term of each summer session.

• SECNDED 706: Learning & Diversity (2 credits)

  School as a cultural experience.

  Offered during the second eight weeks of each fall semester and during the second three-week term of each summer session.

• SECNDED 708: The Marginalized Learner (2 credits)

  How does the traditional school environment marginalize some students?

  Offered during the first eight weeks of each spring semester and during the third three-week term of each summer session.

• SECNDED 709: Learning & Teaching for Empowerment (2 credits)

  Teaching and learning as acts of empowerment!

  Offered during the second eight weeks of each spring semester and during the fourth three-week term of each summer session.

Contact Information

Dr. Anne D'Antonio Stinson
UW-Whitewater
Curriculum & Instruction Department
800 Main Street
Whitewater, WI 53190

Tel. 262-473-7244

Email: stinsona@uww.edu

Register online at www.uww.edu/gradstudies/

Gonzaga University (Spokane WA)
At-Risk Concentration Description

The Master of Arts in Teaching with concentration in Teaching At-Risk Students meets the needs of today's teachers who face multi-problematic issues in the classroom. The dynamics in the modern classroom are intensified by individual issues of each child. Family violence and child abuse, attention difficulties, emotional problems, and learning disabilities can greatly interfere with the student's academic and interpersonal performance. Teachers struggle with significant challenges for which they often have limited training and few resources. The Master of Arts in Teaching: Teaching At-Risk Students provides tools teachers need to reach their students. The courses in the concentration are based on research in the field of resiliency and asset development, offering a strength based approach to student intervention.

Contact Information

Jerri Shepherd
Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA USA 99258-0025
Tel: (509) 323-3501
Email: jshepherd@soe.gonzaga.edu

Harvard University (Cambridge MA)
Risk & Prevention Program

Risk and Prevention is a one year master's degree program dedicated to the practical application of cutting edge research on risk, resilience, and prevention programming for children and adolescents in both school and community settings. Students choose from a range of interdisciplinary courses that address the prevention of psychological, academic, and social problems and the promotion of healthy human development. The program offers students practical experiences in prevention, intervention, applied research, program development and policy implementation through partnerships with school- and community-based health and social service agencies. Special emphasis is placed on the roles that relationships play in the processes that foster resilience and recovery. Students explore a wide range of issues, including the influences of early attachment, violence and trauma, gender and sexuality, and resilience and motivating factors as they relate to educational process and prevention practices.

Curriculum

Required R&P core courses address the nature of risk and resilience as it develops from birth through adolescence with a focus on content from the fields of human development, psychology, and education. Particular attention is given to the fundamental linking of risk and resilience as a dynamic process that evolves or is transformed over the course of development. Dominant theoretical frameworks and research paradigms are examined; courses look at primary risk and protective factors of infancy, early childhood, childhood, and adolescence; theory and methods courses explore prevention and intervention strategies used to reduce risk and promote resilience. Course materials will draw from a multidisciplinary base including the fields of education, psychology, law, and public health.

Students are required take a fall core course and to do either a year-long practicum placement at a school/community site or participate in a year-long research experience connected with the ongoing research of the R&P core faculty.

Contact Information

Sharon Hibbert, Program Coordinator
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Risk & Prevention Program
607 Larsen Hall, Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: (617) 495-4954
Email: rp@gse.harvard.edu
Visit the website

University of West Florida (Pensacola FL)
Alternative Educator Training Program

Public educators and case managers are faced with increasing numbers of K-12 students who are classified at-risk in regard to probable school failure. Both national and state public education data indicate that the percentage of K-12 students classified as academically at-risk for school failure has dramatically increased over the last three decades. In the 1960s, fewer than 20% of all K-12 public school age children and youth were classified by the US Department of Education as at risk of school failure. However, by 1990, that estimate has increased to over 30% and continues to rise. Teachers and case managers who have traditional educational training are finding it difficult to cope with or to reach and teach students who are disruptive. While this is not an initial teacher certification program, our Alternative Educator Training Program (AETP) fulfills the State of Florida's need by providing specialized training to work in an alternative education setting. In many cases, the courses in this program may be used to obtain additional certification or for certification renewal.

Contact Information

John Platt
University of West Florida
College of Professional Studies
Division of Teacher Education
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
Tel: 850-474-2889

Email: jplatt@uwf.edu Visit the website

Park University (Parkville MO)
Master of Education (At Risk)

A nine credit program dealing with issues that face at-risk students and teachers everyday, such as classroom management, characteristics of at-risk students, violent behavior, reading diagnosis and remediation, etc.

Contact Information

Larry Ewing
Park University
8700 NW River Park Drive
Parkville, MO 64152
Tel. 816-584-6258
Fax 816-741-4371
Email: larry.ewing@park.edu
Visit the website

College of Santa Fe (Santa Fe NM)
5-Year BA/MA with Focus on At-Risk Youth

America's classrooms are changing. Population growth and increased cultural, ethnic and class diversity demand that teachers understand a broad spectrum of ideas, both about the subjects they teach and the needs of different types of students. No two children are the same, and research indicates that tailoring teaching to fit multiple learning styles inspires curiosity in students, they key to their future potential and learners. At CSF, we teach the theory of multiple intelligences: are you a visual thinker? May you learn best through concepts in music or math. Do you work better in a group setting, or do you prefer to work alone? Professors explain and model these concepts in class, and you in turn take your experience to your own classroom. As early as freshman year, you will find yourself observing in local schools, and interacting with working teachers and their students. All future teachers are trained in classroom management, which means you will be prepared to take on the varied responsibilities of being an educator as soon as you graduate.

Contact Information

Isabelle Sandoval
College of Santa Fe
1600 Michael's Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Tel: 800 456 2673
Fax: 505 473 6011
Email: isandoval@csf.edu
Visit the website (1)
Visit the website (2)

Lock Haven University of PA
M.Ed. (Alternative Education Studies Program)

On-Line

The Alternative Education Studies program makes it possible for professionals to engage in reflective practice while improving teaching and program development skills. The program encourages exploration of methods, research and epistemologies that focus on both the learner and systemic changes that will benefit all students. Students will develop skills, knowledge and competencies that will benefit them in their work in alternative and/or regular education settings. The program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) and is aligned with the core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in its curriculum.

Contact Information

Nathaniel S. Hosley, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Alternative Education Studies
School of Graduate Studies
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Annex Building
Lock Haven, PA. 17745
Telephone: (570) 484-2973
Fax: (570) 893-6248
Visit the website (Alternative Education portal)
Visit the website (Master of Education in Alternative Education program info)

George Mason University (Fairfax VA)
Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning

Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning

The 12-credit Education Core component of the Master's degree provides students with learning experiences and activities that simulate requirements for certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The Alternative Education Emphais is a 18 credit component of the Master's degree allowing students to specialize Alternative Education Alternative Education Emphasis http://gse.gmu.edu/programs/astl/pdf/altedEmpForm.pdf

Contact Information

George Mason University
Graduate School of Education
Advanced Studies in Teaching and Learning
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
Dr. Joan Isenberg, Director
Tel: (703) 993-2037
Email: jisenber@gmu.edu
Dr. Rebecca Fox, Assistant Director Tel: (703) 993-4123
Email: rfox@gmu.edu
ASTL Information — Tel. (703) 993-3640
Email: nfarley@gmu.edu
Visit the website