Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline

What does it mean to be an Urban Teacher?

Teaching in an urban school is an exciting calling that requires specialized preparation. Urban teachers must meet the needs of students from a range of cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Redesigned Courses & Clinical Experiences

Over 90 courses at ISU focus course content on our partner urban communities with embedded clinical immersion experiences in Chicago.

STEP-UP

A four-week immersive fellowship available in partner city that includes classroom experiences, summer programming, a community-based internship, professional development, guided reflection, and residency with a host family.

Student Teaching

With year-long or semester-based options, ISU student teachers are afforded opportunities to live in community-based housing and work in after-school programs.

Induction and Mentoring

New teachers are offered mentoring with professional development throughout the school year with opportunities for to network and enhance teaching and learning in the classroom.

Recruitment

NCUE cultivates young and aspiring educators to serve urban and high-need classrooms across Illinois and beyond. This includes programming at both the high school and university levels. Learn how to get involved!

INFUSE

INFUSE enables special education majors to fulfill key course sequences and complete both field-based and student teaching semesters in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

Announcements

Spring 2021 Redesigned Urban Education Course Offerings

News

STEP-UP Fellow offers free drum lessons to neighborhood youth

"Having an outlet for expression is huge, for anyone,” Bloom said, “Especially if they’re dealing with a lot of trauma or adversity or challenges in life."

ISU graduate shares her passion for working in Chicago Public Schools, where her education began

"I have devoted myself to working in a high-need school within CPS because I want my students to feel empowered. I want my students to utilize the potential that burns inside them."

PBS NewsHour Feature: Bridging the Cultural Divide Between Teachers and Students

The Chicago Teacher Education Pipeline at Illinois State University takes a step beyond conventional cultural competency training by immersing their teacher candidates in Chicago's highest-need communities—part of a month-long intensive fellowship called STEP-UP.

STEP-UP featured on WTTW Chicago Tonight!

For incoming Illinois State University senior Leah Kuhn, learning starts at home. This summer, home is the Little Village residence of her host, Ciria Ruiz, who is helping her learn Spanish.

EdWeek highlights CTEP's work on preparing culturally competent teachers

Since the fundamental idea behind culturally responsive teaching is knowing one's students and their histories intimately, some teacher-preparation programs are tackling the challenge by increasing how much time teacher-candidates spend with the students they will one day end up teaching.