The six-year-old Bryn Mawr-Haverford Teacher Education Program gained re-accreditation this fall from the state of Pennsylvania, enabling students from both campuses to continue to gain certification as middle and high school teachers for public schools.
During the re-accreditation process, Pennsylvania education officials reviewed course offerings to determine whether students in the education program received proper preparation in a variety of subject areas, explained Marjorie Merklin, program administrator and advisor for the program.
Despite the fact that both colleges do not offer a formal education major, the re-accreditation allows both colleges to continue to offer teacher certification in 12 subject areas - biology, chemistry, Chinese, English, French, German, Latin, mathematics, physics, Russian social studies and Spanish.
Merklin noted the program is very demanding, as students seeking certification must take all of the course requirements for the program in addition to courses for their majors. In most cases, this means students must take a double load of course work as well as fit in one semester of student teaching in their senior year. Despite the heavy work load, Merklin said the number of students receiving certification through the program has more than doubled over the past three years from five to 12. And graduates have gone on to teach in public school systems as diverse as Philadelphia and Beverly Hills, Calif.
Merklin noted the education program also provides a concentration in educational studies for Haverford Students and a minor in education for Bryn Mawr students. Although these two options do not lead to certification, they provide students with a way of learning about education issues and teaching through a coherent set of courses and a culminating field experience, Merklin said.
The Bryn Mawr-Haverford Teacher Education Program is always interested in hearing about possible teacher positions available for its graduates. If you are aware of any openings for next September, contact mmerklin [at] haverford.edu (Marjorie Merklin).
