Graduate Teacher Education Programs

Director of Teacher Education: Richard Fulton

Email: fulton_r@fortlewis.edu

Professor: Kristine Greer

Associate Professors: Chiara Cannella, Elizabeth Dorman, Richard Fulton, and Suzanne Null

Assistant Professors: Jill Choate, Di Ann Ryter, Lorien Chambers Schult, and Kay Phelps

The Master of Arts in Education: Teacher Leadership program and graduate certificate in Teacher Leadership that began in 2013 have their origins in the development of the Teacher Leadership Model Standards, were informed by a thorough assessment of the needs of professional educators in the Four Corners area, and were developed in collaboration with teacher leaders, principals, and superintendents in area schools.

Students are admitted into the Teacher Leadership programs in cohorts, every other year, on the odd year (e.g. 2013, 2015, 2017, etc.). The programs are taught year-round in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. To meet the needs of working adults, the programs are designed so students can attend half-time. Courses are taught in a hybrid format, with on-campus class sessions complemented by learning activities using a learning management system.

Departmental Policies

Academic Progress Standards

To be eligible to continue in the Teacher Leadership degree or certificate program, students must meet the cumulative grade point average and cumulative pace standards that apply to all Graduate Studies programs as well as qualitative standards established by the department. Department faculty may refer a student to the Graduate Professional Education Review Committee for failing to act in a professional and ethical manner; failure to follow an academic plan; or failure to make satisfactory progress on the Comprehensive Teacher Leadership Portfolio or Culminating Research Project. The most serious outcome of this review process would be a department petition to the Post-Baccalaureate and Graduate Academic Standards Committee for a student to be academically disqualified.

Access to School Setting

Students must have access to a P-12 school setting to achieve course and program learning outcomes in the Teacher Leadership graduate programs. Applicants are required to establish research access to a school setting as part of the admission process. This access must be re-established prior to the beginning of each fall and spring semester by completing a form available on the department website and submitting it to the Graduate Program Manager. Degree-seeking-students who cannot establish access to a school setting will not be eligible to take coursework that semester. This policy also applies to non-degree-seeking students enrolled in any course required in the Teacher Leadership programs.

Continuous Registration

Teacher Leadership students are required to be continuously enrolled in the fall, spring, and summer semesters from their semester of matriculation to their semester of graduation. Students who fail to continuously enroll may be required to seek re-admission to the program and join a new cohort.

Graduate Research Advisor

Master’s degree students are assigned a Graduate Research Advisor in addition to a Graduate Faculty Advisor. The Graduate Research Advisor will advise the student on the completion of the Culminating Research Project. The faculty member who will serve as a student’s Graduate Research Advisor will be selected after clarification of the student’s research interest in ED 600 .

Technology Requirements

Unless students in the Teacher Leadership program plan to travel to campus to use a campus computer lab, they need to have access to their own computer and Internet Service Provider. High-speed access is recommended, as there may be files or online programs that will not work well on a dial-up connection. Technology requirements are subject to change and may differ depending on the course. Students are responsible for reviewing the technology requirements on the department website and on each course syllabus.