Think of your childhood: when a teacher reached out with a helping hand and heart to assist you with something important---like learning how to read or understand math, science or Shakespeare.
Think about a time when you or a loved one needed care for either a physical or emotional injury, or when guidance was needed to access important social services.
Everyone can remember a teacher or nurse, counselor or social worker who made a life better---helped someone over a hurdle, gave comfort to someone in need, or dispelled the shadow of ignorance with the light of knowledge. That is what Central’s School of Education and Professional Studies is all about. We prepare people to provide leadership and service in our communities---your community and mine. We prepare teachers, administrators, reading specialists and special educators for our schools, as well as nurses, social workers, exercise and fitness instructors, and counselors for a host of community and private agencies in need of skilled professionals.
Central’s School of Education and Professional Studies has prepared teachers since 1849, and while we have expanded our work beyond teacher preparation alone, what has not changed is our commitment to quality--we were on the cutting edge of educational innovation then and remain on that forefront today. All our graduate and undergraduate programs meet or exceed standards set by national accrediting bodies, and because of this, when someone graduates from Central, they have the knowledge and skills to improve lives.
Complementing the expertise with which our students emerge from their studies, our faculty are knowledgeable and dedicated scholars and practitioners who know their disciplines well, teach effectively, and are engaged in their professions at a level that ensures the knowledge they bring to their students is useful and current.
One last thing you should know: our work is not done in isolation. Because we are preparing people for service, experience tells us that skills and wisdom are best developed in the context in which they will be applied. This means we require our students and faculty to work in schools, hospitals and community agencies as part of their academic program. Our students and faculty are active in hundreds of schools, hospitals and agencies in our region and bring 1,000s of hours of free service to people in need. Yes, we are preparing people to serve and make the world a better place in the future--when they graduate—but it is also true that, through the service our students provide as part of their studies, they are making the world a better place today.
Last year, over 700 of your neighbors graduated programs offered by Central’s School of Education and Professional Studies, and over 4,000 are pursing degrees and credentials in our programs. Your higher education neighbor, Central Connecticut State University’s School of Education and Professional Studies, is preparing much sought after leaders to meet the workforce demands of the future. And to ensure that the future of Connecticut and its residents is bright, we remain steadfastly committed to this mission.
- Mitchell Sakofs - Dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies
Orginally printed in the New Britain Herald