If you have any questions, please contact Bev Streeter at bstreeter@collaborative.org.

If you’re still contemplating enrolling in the Collaborative’s Licensure program, time is of the essence. As part of our commitment to providing you with exceptional career training, we conduct regular and systematic reviews of our courses and programs, administrative systems, and staff. Beginning on April 1, 2012, we are implementing a modest increase in our tuition and fees in order to keep pace with increased costs of running our program.

As of April 1, the following tuition and fees will take effect:

Even with this slight increase, our tuition remains among the most affordable, accessible, and high-quality options in the Commonwealth for prospective educators. If you’ve considered enrolling before, you still have an opportunity to do so before the tuition increase goes into effect: new students whose applications for enrollment in a CES Licensure program are received and approved by CES before April 1 will receive the current tuition rate.

It’s important to note that program tuition rates for current enrollees will not change. Students who are already enrolled in a licensure program will be grandfathered under the program tuition rate that was in effect when you signed your Commitment Form. The cost of individual courses taken as part of a Master’s Degree or CAGS program will, however, reflect the new April 1 rate. The CES Continuing Education Loan, available through our partnership with the UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, can be a valuable option if you’re looking for help in financing the next steps toward becoming an educator. Click here for loan program details.

We look forward to seeing you this summer!

Minnick describes Schuman’s leadership as transformative, in that the agency has “become one of the most respected, exemplary ESAs in Massachusetts.” Schuman was nominated by Minnick and her colleagues across the state for her pioneering spirit in developing innovative programs that had not previously been implemented by ESAs in Massachusetts.

At a time when ESAs have come under harsh scrutiny by state agencies, CES has continued to engage communities and schools in positive dialogue about how to improve the lives and education of young people. This past year, CES partnered with the Holyoke Public Schools to manage Dean Technical High School, in order to turn around chronic low student achievement scores.

Minnick said Schuman has also expanded the awareness among state leaders about the critical role the state’s 27 ESAs can play in supporting the needs of students, educators and schools. She added that the path-breaking programs designed by Schuman and other staff have “motivated the state to consider ESAs in a new light, and inspired smaller collaboratives to broaden their service portfolios.” Innovative programs designed by Schuman and her staff include:

• Creation of federal grant-funded services that support the social/emotional needs of young people, birth through young adulthood.
• Partnerships with educators to develop collaborative school-based teams that analyze student and other school-based data to improve curriculum and instruction.
• Integration of arts into statewide schools for youth residing in juvenile justice settings of the state’s Department of Youth Services.
• Collaboration with state agencies to improve the quality of special education services for students residing in institutional settings across the Commonwealth.
• Development of an alternative licensing program for teachers focused on using an asset-based approach to working with all children and youth, particularly those at risk.

Welcome Wednesdays and First Fridays (held on the first Wednesday and first Friday of each month, respectively) are a convenient way to allow prospective educators to explore the Collaborative’s Educator Licensure Programs, ask questions, discuss licensure options, and map out an affordable, practical path to a career in education. The Collaborative offers traditional face-to-face educator licensure courses in Marlboro, as well as providing hybrid online course options.

Welcome Wednesdays take place from 4:40-5:30pm at the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT), 65 Boston Post Road West, Marlboro, MA.  See the Welcome Wednesdays Information Sessions flyer (1-pg PDF) or our Information Sessions page for more information and dates for fall 2011 and spring 2012.

Three years later, find out what the Collaborative’s own Len Lubinsky and David Greenberg have discovered about how this unique model affects teachers and students alike in their recent eSchool News article Hybrid online classes: What we’ve learned (2-page PDF).

The CES Continuing Education Loan is available to all officially enrolled students CES who qualify, including those pursuing Masters Degrees and Certificates of Advanced Graduate Study through our partnership with Fitchburg State University. The loan program is designed to cover the cost of tuition, books, and other program-related fees. It offers qualifiers flexibility, with a maximum loan amount of $20,000, variable interest rates, terms of up to seven years, and payment deferment options.

The loan opportunity represents collaboration between two non-profit, community-based organizations committed to helping people reach their goals by making the road to achievement financially viable. All Collaborative students are eligible to become members of the UMass Five FCU. Together, we’re strengthening our commitment to fostering highly successful careers in the classroom and the broader field of education.

Learn about the loan program, or contact CES Licensure directly to find out more.

While you wait for beach weather to settle in, why not think ahead to the fall semester with the Collaborative’s Licensure program? The Fall 2011 course catalog, now available online, provides detailed information on upcoming course offerings to meet your needs on the road to an Initial teaching or administration license, a Master’s in Education, or a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. Take classes when it’s convenient, in hybrid online or a traditional classroom format.

The Collaborative’s Educator Licensure program offers participants a practical and affordable path to a career in education, which is why we’re proud to announce a new loan opportunity for students enrolled in our program. Thanks to a partnership with UMASS Five College Credit Union, financing is available for eligible, enrolled licensure students as well as to Master’s Degree and CAGS candidates. Stay turned for more news in the coming weeks.

As always, the Collaborative’s Licensure program is committed to remaining current and responsive to the ever-changing world of education and education policy. As Massachusetts begins the process of implementing the recently-adopted Common Core Standards, we are ensuring that our curriculum-specific licensure courses incorporate all standards requirements. We are also actively addressing new state Department of Education guidelines for the evaluation of teachers and administrators to give our licensure candidates the strongest possible foundation for success in the school and classroom environments.

Take some time this summer to think about fall — register for classes today by downloading and completing the registration form and sending it in with payment.

Click the image to watch Penny Rhodes, the Collaborative’s Director of  Licensure Programs, speak during a recent appearance on Springfield’s WWLP-22 News about First Friday drop-in information sessions — free gatherings held on the first Friday of every month from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton.

Join us to ask questions about CES’s Licensure Program, discuss options, and map out a plan toward becoming a teacher or administrator in Massachusetts.

This summer, for the first time, the CES Licensure Program partners with colleagues in the Collaborative’s Emerging America project to offer a new hybrid online course in our Initial Licensure programs in History, Humanities, and English. Designed to aid teachers in their use of primary source materials in the classroom, Using Primary Sources will help teachers develop energetic and engaging lesson plans that strengthen students’ critical thinking skills by investigating cultural and historical forces behind the creation of selected documents, artwork, current events, and works of literature. Lesson plans developed during the course will be tied to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

As always, the CES Educator Licensure Program offers students flexibility and accessibility. Many summer courses take place in a traditional classroom setting and can be completed conveniently in just two weeks. Additionally, all summer courses are conducted in a hybrid online format that combines three in-person sessions with the freedom of online coursework.

For more information about Using Primary Sources and other summer course offerings, including information on course content, format, dates, and registration deadlines, please view our online course catalog. To register for summer courses, simply download the registration form and follow the instructions.

Remember that the Collaborative’s partnership with Fitchburg State University allows you to apply graduate credit from all CES Licensure courses toward your Master’s in Education or a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS). For more information about applying to the graduate program, contact Beverly Streeter at the Collaborative (bstreeter@collaborative.org), or Stephen Hemman at Fitchburg State University (shemman@fsc.edu).

The Spring 2011 TeachinMass licensure courses begin January 29, 2011. The course catalog is now available online, and provides detailed information on the course content, format, and dates. The registration form is also conveniently located on the back page of the catalog. To register for a Spring course, complete the registration form and submit with payment. It’s as simple as that!

For many of our courses, students have a choice of format. All of our courses now are offered in a  hybrid-online format; many continue to also be offered in a  traditional classroom format as well. You may now have the choice to attend your class in-person in the classroom, or to combine three in-person sessions with coursework in an online community.

For more on online learning,  you can find information and tips on our website. You can learn  about our hybrid-online courses, as well as about the computer requirements necessary for a successful online learning experience. We have also provided links to our Moodle resources, which include a guide and a useful course that helps participants to familiarize themselves with our online course management system.

The focus of our courses and programs remains on continuing to offer accessible, practical and affordable licensure programs statewide. Our goal is to provide  high quality, rigorous  courses and programs, so that participants can achieve excellence in their education careers.