lkf725

It looks like nobody visits this forum, but if anybody is out there, I am seeking information on Duquesne's School of Education. How do they do with teacher preparation, and how is Duquesne in general?

Khipper

When I went to Duquesne as a liberal arts major30+ years ago, the School of Education's special education department was top notch. Special education major were and I believe are very active volunteering with special needs students.

As for the other programs in the education school, I gather that they all pretty well respected.

However, the catch is that Duquesne is private school and the total amount for tuition, room and board, fees, etc., is probably double of what it costs to attend Penn State or the schools in the Pennsylvania System of Higher Educations (aka the 14 "State Teachers Colleges" -- IUP, Edinboro, Slippery Rock, Clarion, CUP, Lock Haven, Shippensburg, Kutztown, Bloomsburg, West Chester, Mansfield, Cheney, etc).

When I went to Duquesne, many if not most education majors were commuters from the Pittsburgh area. Duquesne has a good relationship with most of the school districts in the region -- it should, most educational administrators in the region earned their advanced degrees at Duquesne.

The music education program in the School of Music is superlative

lkf725

Do you think that the college attended has anything to do with obtaining a job in the Pittsburgh area? Are public schools more likely to favor grads from Duquesne or nearby colleges than more distant institutions?

And I guess my other (probably unanswerable) question is whether there are even teaching jobs available these days.

Khipper

Duquesne's music education majors usually get first crack at most of the openings for music teachers in western Pennsylvania.

Because Duquesne is a Catholic institution, its graduates have an in with the local Catholic school systems.

Western Pennsylvania is declining in population. Most schools in the region are declining in enrollment. Many recent graduates of teacher preparation programs are forced to relocate to Virginia and the Carolinas to find jobs.

lkf725

Thanks for the input. While D is somewhat interested in teaching, I don't know if that is something I should encourage. While I think she has an ideal personality for teaching, she has many talents and I would hate for her to find herself without job opportunities.

It seems that when our school district hires, they very often hire teachers who have done their student teaching here. It is like that in my job area also. Thus my question about location.

Khipper

I used to be a newspaper reporter and covered my share of school board meetings. One district that I covered tended to hire exclusively from the collegians


who did their student teaching in the district.

In a district adjacent to that one, the second district only hired experienced teachers (from private schools, from out of state or from lesser paying districts) or teachers who had been previously employed in the district as teachers aides.

And of course, we know the roll politics plays in hiring by school districts ... :>)

We need good teachers!!

lkf725

Well, you can't get around the politics in public education! It doesn't run like the normal business world, but I don't want my opinion to color her choice. A few people have offered her job-shadowing opportunities, so I will encourage her to take advantage of those...maybe see things from a different perspective.