School of Education

The School of Education (SOE) prepares educators at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels. Its student are actively involved in learning, analyzing, discussing, assessing and applying their knowledge and skills in practical settings.

Overview

  • For the 2009-2010 academic year, 896 undergraduates and 1,455 graduate students enrolled in the School of Education, boosting enrollment by nearly 9.6 percent and making it one of the largest schools of education in the Chicago area.

  • The SOE is Chicago's education partner. It currently is engaged in partnerships with more than 200 Chicago area public and private schools through a host of improvement programs.

  • In concert with the Chicago Public Schools and the Archdiocese of Chicago, the SOE has established Professional Development Schools, an innovative educational concept designed to enhance pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade education while providing a creative environment for teacher training and professional faculty development. The PDS Network links faculty and students from DePaul with administrators, teachers, counselors and parents from partnering schools to support and encourage research, best-practice teacher professional development and school improvement.

  • More than 3,000 SOE graduates are employed as teachers, principals and administrators in the Chicago area.

Distinctions

  • Three School of Education graduates won prestigious Golden Apple awards in 2009; three SOE grads also won Golden Apples in 2008. The Golden Apple Foundation recognizes and develops outstanding teachers, especially for schools of need. At least nine other SOE graduates have won the award since 1990.

  • DePaul University trustee Jack M. Greenberg and his wife, Donna, recently gave $1 million to the School of Education to create an innovative program promoting tolerance, social justice and social responsibility.

  • Special education Professor Beverly Trezek has devised a groundbreaking method of teaching deaf and hearing-impaired children how to read. She has traveled worldwide lecturing on the topic and training teachers how to use the method.

  • SOE Assistant Professor Hanna Kim organizes a free hands-on, inquiry-based weeklong summer program to keep middle school girls interested in science and technology. Kim's Inquiry-Based Science and Technology Enrichment Program (InSTEP) was founded in 2008 and 2009 by a Motorola Foundation Innovation grant.

  • In spring 2009, Erin Mason, an assistant professor of human services and counseling, received the distinguished Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award from the American Counseling Association (ACA) for her work with Georgia state lawmakers on school counseling policy legislation.

  • Jim Duignan, associate professor in SOE, and founder of the Stockyard Institute, won a 2008 Artadia Award, which included a $15,000 stipend allowing him to pursue his work. Duignan founded the Stockyard Institute in 1995 to serve as an arts and pedagogical initiative that creates collaborative art projects with youth, teachers, artists and residents in underserved Chicago communities. Working in the Back of the Yards, Austin and Howard-area communities, the Stockyard Institute coordinates with schools, youth centers, cultural organizations and community centers to design and organize temporary projects and sustainable programs. Since its inception, the institute has connected with more than 2,000 students and exhibited projects locally and around the world.

  • Kenneth Saltman, an associate professor of educational policy studies and research, won a 2008 American Educational Studies Association (AESA) Critics' Choice Award for his book "Capitalizing on Disaster: Taking and Breaking Public Schools" (Paradigm Publishers 2007), for its relevance to the foundations of education and the mission of AESA, originality of research, scholarly/intellectual impact on the field and the significance of the topic. The book argues that privatization policies such as the federal No Child Left Behind Act are designed to deregulate and privatize public schools, favoring businesses while undermining public oversight, community involvement and critical approaches to teaching and learning. 

Programs

  • SOE offers degree programs in:

    • early childhood education

    • elementary, secondary and physical education

    • bilingual/bicultural education

    • curriculum studies

    • educational leadership

    • human services and counseling

    • special education (language, literacy and specialized instruction)

    • social and cultural foundations in education.

  • The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in many areas.

  • With the support of the Big Shoulders Fund, SOE partners with Josephinum Academy, Maria High School, Notre Dame High School for Girls and St. Benedict’s High School to provide professional development for teachers and administrators. The partnerships provide cross-school collaboration and teacher and student leadership opportunities aimed at enhancing student academic performance.

  • SOE and Senn High School, with the support of a four-year AT&T grant, are working collaboratively to support Senn’s growing AVID program. AVID is a national program that addresses the emotional, social and academic needs of students at risk of dropping out. Through the grant, Senn and SOE provide teacher and counselor professional development, student support, college readiness activities and parent support activities.

  • In partnership with DePaul’s Study Abroad program, SOE offers a program that allows students to examine educational issues and study the Spanish language. While in Mexico, students take one or two education courses at La Universidad LaSalle.

  • SOE partnered with DePaul's School for New Learning to offer a new bachelor of arts degree in early childhood education in Fall 2008. The program is uniquely designed for adults working in early childhood education so that they can continue working while obtaining a bachelor's degree and Illinois teacher certification. Students age 24 or older pursue courses in SOE and SNL and have the opportunity to receive class credit for life and work experience related to early childhood education.

  • SOE Associate Professor Akihiko Takahashi established the Asia-Pacific Mathematics and Science Education Collaborative at DePaul in 2008 that catalyzes systemic improvement in mathematics and science education through research dissemination, curriculum and program design, and professional education. Takahashi is an internationally known expert on the Japanese Lesson Study method of professional development, which uses collaborative teacher planning and evaluation to improve mathematics teaching.

  • The newly remodeled Family Lab in SOE has been serving students ages 6 to 16 in Chicagoland for nearly 40 years. It provides diagnostic assessment and offers academic tutoring, instructional interventions and related support. Services are provided by graduate students who are supervised by university faculty members in a clinical setting. The lab offers a plethora of educational resources for students, staff and families. It also serves as a training facility for DePaul students in the counseling master’s program. The technologically equipped labs allow counseling faculty and students to monitor and record students’ counseling practice sessions for review and supervision.

  • The Web-enhanced Family Literacy Initiative (WE FLI), which is funded by the Illinois Reading Council, embodies DePaul's central mission of serving the community through educational endeavors. The project harnesses the power of new technologies aimed at engaging all stakeholders -- students, parents, grandparents and community -- to create positive literacy experiences that benefit all involved. Located at www.wefli.org, the project site provides free downloadable podcasts and other resources for parents. Site content is downloaded through iTunes more than 4,000 times a week. 

About the Dean

  • Paul Zionts was appointed dean of the School of Education in July 2009. Zionts is the author, co-author or editor of five books and more than 25 articles and chapters. A professor of special education, his research interests include educating children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders, cognitive behavioral interventions and classroom management. Before joining DePaul, he served as dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 2005-2009. He previously served as a professor and chair of educational foundations and special services at Kent State University and as professor at Central Michigan University.

The School of Education's Web site is education.depaul.edu.



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