The Adolescence Education: English program requires completion of an English major, while simultaneously completing a second major in education, with courses in pedagogy that are specific to the content that will be taught.  

Caring, experienced faculty, and the opportunity to interact with regional teachers and students throughout the programs, make for an authentic experience in preparation for an exciting and rewarding career as a middle school or high school English teacher.  

The Adolescence Education Program for teaching English is designed to meet the teacher certification regulations of the New York State Education Department, the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standards, the standards of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), as well as Advisory Board recommendations and alumni feedback. This program is nationally recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The program leads to initial certification in Adolescence English Education (Grades 7-12) with a 5-6 extension. 

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

Adolescence Education: English B.A. candidates will be able to:

   • demonstrate strong knowledge and application of ELA instructional planning by creating a multi-genre/multi-modal summative unit assessment that aligns with their unit standards, objectives, and essential question(s).
   • implement instruction that uses a variety of resources and technologies and incorporates theories, research, and knowledge of students to support and engage all learners in meeting learning goals.
   • demonstrate responsibility of ELA teachers by engaging with professional ELA learning communities and explaining the impact to their growth and development as teachers.
   • demonstrate knowledge and application of learners and learning in ELA by identifying learner needs and the resources and strategies needed to successfully implement instruction through the use of current theory and pedagogy.

Additional Information:

All English education courses must be completed with a 2.7 or higher, with a 3.0 GPA in the education major.

Education courses (EDLS and SECD courses) require a minimum grade of 2.7 or above; therefore, these courses will not satisfy the requirement if students elect the S/P/U grading option.  However, an S grade can be used to fulfill cognate requirements in the major.  Students must follow the S/P/U policy for the English major they are pursuing.

Students pursuing the Adolescence English Education Program for English Language Arts certification in grades 7-12 must also complete the English (Literature/Writing) major with a 2.75 overall GPA. Contact the chair of the English and Communication Department to declare the major, be assigned an English adviser and select appropriate courses.