Institutional Context

The City University of New York (CUNY)

As the premiere “People’s University,” CUNY promotes intellectual achievement, career and college access, and personal and social success for the public good. As the largest provider of public school personnel, CUNY is inextricably linked to New York City’s public school system of 1,400 schools, 1.0 million students, and 80,000+ educators. More than the aggregate of senior colleges, community colleges, and professional schools, each with their own challenges and expectations, CUNY represents a philosophical ideal. Millions of people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds have been transformed into an extensive community of citizens who provide leadership in the City and State, throughout the United States, and around the world.

Lehman College

As a senior college in the CUNY system, located in the Bronx, Lehman College upholds the University’s goals for educational and personal advancement by providing undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts, education, and environmental and health sciences, and by offering adult and continuing education options. As the only public liberal arts college in the borough, Lehman College is a unique intellectual, economic, and cultural center within the Bronx and surrounding region. The College’s objectives for meeting the educational needs of diverse populations are to:

provide access to a common body of knowledge and opportunities to develop a lifelong love of learning;
promote excellence in scholarship, teaching, research, and artistic endeavors;
develop abilities to think analytically and creatively;
broaden educational opportunities through joint programs with other institutions locally, nationally, and internationally;
foster understanding of and respect for such differences as gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, and physical ability;
advance the understanding and use of emerging technologies;
serve as a center for the continuing educational and cultural needs for the region through access to the College’s facilities and expertise in the academic disciplines, professional fields, and the fine and performing arts.

The School of Education

The School of Education upholds the CUNY and College commitments to access, excellence, and multicultural understanding through academic departments that are dedicated to the development of dispositions and practices that affirm diversity, creativity, critical thinking, integrity, and technological expertise of 21^st Century tools and skills. The Departments include: Early Childhood and Childhood Education; Middle and High School Education; and, Counseling, Leadership, Literacy, and Special Education. Institutes and Centers within the School of Education bridge and support the work of faculty and students by reaching individuals and communities beyond Lehman College’s gates—PreK-12 public and charter schools, families, parents, community-based organizations, government agencies, cultural institutions, and professional groups.

To meet the needs of a wide range of individuals—diverse in age, gender and sexual orientation, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, social, and religious/spiritual backgrounds, as well as in identity development, ability/disability, and family types—the School of Education strives to:

prepare effective teachers, school counselors, and school leaders for a variety of settings;
promote use of data, evidence-based practice, and scholarship to close achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps and to ensure college and career readiness for every student;
participate in school-community-family partnerships and professional organizations in order to effect change in educational policies and practices;
empower individuals (students, alumni, and other partners) to serve as leaders and advocates for equity and social justice.

These expectations are grounded in a set of beliefs that undergird all of our work with children, adolescents, adults, and families who are served by our pre-service and in-service educators. We believe high-quality educational experiences:

depend on preparation that emphasizes essential knowledge, skills, dispositions, practices, and effective assessments to ensure that graduates will have a positive impact on PreK-12 students and schools;
are socially-constructed and require caring and supportive relationships in a network within and beyond the School of Education to foster learning that is meaningful and relevant;
respect and reflect the diversity and contexts of individuals to support development of productive citizens and communities;
promote partnerships that embrace the transformative potential of education to cultivate lifelong growth and learning.

The School of Education strives for continuous improvement. Unit and program level quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analyzed regularly and systematically and used to support evidence-based decision-making. A description of the School of Education assessment system and an explanation of how it aligns with the LUTE framework can be found in the Lehman College School of Education Assessment Handbook.

Lehman College School of Education educators effectively and seamlessly weave technology into a strong foundation of content, cognitive, social-emotional processes, and pedagogical knowledge using professional expertise of 21^st Century tools and skills. Supporting the four LUTE themes, educators inspire, inquire, integrate, innovate, and influence teaching and learning with technology by:

Collaborating, evaluating, and demonstrating best practices;
Integrating existing and new technologies and multimedia communication to develop engaging learning experiences, content, authentic assessment, and research;
Using technology to differentiate curriculum and instruction for diverse learners;
Empowering leaders, teacher, and school counselor candidates with skills to ensure PreK-12 student achievement and success;
Understanding and using the power and potential of technology, digital media, and/or social networking in advocacy and social justice work.