Tampa Catholic High School

New Teachers Collaborative Program Overview


Learn to teach by teaching in small, progressive schools! Start your middle or secondary (grades 5-12) school teaching career by working and learning in schools designed to foster the habits and skills of critical thinking, collaborative inquiry, and reflection, where students are known well.


Our educator preparation program offers:


  • A post-Baccalaureate apprenticeship. Grounded in teacher collaboration and reflective practice, NTC is an approved MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education teacher preparation program that culminates in Initial Licensure. From the very first day, you are a professional, working alongside experienced teachers to develop your practice by engaging in relevant experiences with real students.


  • A stimulating cohort. Candidates hold strong college backgrounds in math, science, arts and humanities, English, Spanish, history and social sciences, physical education, technical training, and life experiences. Candidates enter the program from undergraduate preparation, gap year, or other careers. The cohort meets one Wednesday and two Tuesday afternoon/evenings a month in seminars around relevant issues in teaching and learning that are immediately applicable in the classroom.


  • On-going coaching and support. Through strong program faculty, experienced colleagues, consistent feedback, and close mentoring, you will engage with teams of teachers in professional collaborative inquiry around instruction, curriculum and assessment.


  • A year-long pathway to a successful teaching career. In summer sessions and one academic year, you will learn to how to teach by teaching, joining the faculty of public schools in Massachusetts in a program guided by the Ten Common Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools.


  • Financial incentives. You pay no tuition and receive a living stipend and essential benefits. Books and materials are provided through NTC.


  • Graduate Credit. Through our partnership with Fitchburg State University, you are eligible to earn up to 15 graduate credits upon successful completion of our program.


Timeline


WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR. Acceptance to the program and placements are made on a rolling basis. The New Teachers Collaborative is based at the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School/Theodore R. Sizer Teachers Center in Devens, MA.


Certification Details


The New Teachers Collaborative will train and support candidates who seek Initial Licensure as an educator in the state of Massachusetts.


The Initial Educator License is issued to a person who has completed a bachelor's degree, passed the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL), completed a professional preparation program approved by the commissioner (such as NTC), and met other eligibility requirements established by the Board.

The MTEL covers material relating to: communication and literacy skills, and subject matter knowledge appropriate to the license sought. After teaching in Massachusetts for three years, the license is reciprocal in different states. The Initial License is valid for five years of employment and may be renewed at the discretion of the Commissioner for an additional five years.

  • Collaborative Teachers Profiles

    The following profiles are of a few individuals who have participated in the NTC program:


    Liz Naiman, English Teacher, Souhegan High School

    B.A., Georgetown University


    Liz Naiman graduated from Georgetown University in 2000 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts. Liz majored in Theology and Government and minored in English. While at Georgetown, Liz was an SAT prep classroom teacher as well as an Assistant Teacher in a 3rd grade classroom. She also participated in Sursum Corda, an inner city mentoring program which matches Georgetown undergraduates with Washington DC area high school students. During her summers, Liz worked as a Group Leader at ASA Programs at Stanford University, a college preparatory program for high school juniors and seniors. Liz is currently teaching tenth grade English at Souhegan High School.


    Through the New Teachers' Collaborative, I have embarked on the process of mastering the intricacies of the classroom while learning the larger theories of secondary education. It is daunting to step into the classroom for the first time but, through the NTC, I feel confident that I have a large system of support, both from renowned, seasoned educators and from my fellow new teachers. I rely on our seminars as a reflective "step back" from the classroom: How can I improve my practice? What am I doing well as a first year teacher? The New Teachers' Collaborative supplies the pedagogical advice, innovative ideas, and comforting humor that I need to get through my first year of teaching!


    Caleb Hurst-Hiller, Head of School

    BA, Brown University

    EdM, Harvard Graduate School of Education


    Caleb Hurst-Hiller became head of school of the Community Charter School of Cambridge in July 2012. A member of CCSC's founding faculty, Mr. Hurst-Hiller started as a 7th and 8th grade humanities teacher and an advisor. He then taught 10th grade, before serving as the school's first instructional leader, mentoring teachers new to the profession and the school. He coached the varsity basketball team for the school's first four years. In 2009, he became upper school principal.


    A history major at Brown University, Mr. Hurst-Hiller earned a master's degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he concentrated on educational policy, instructional improvement, and small school development. Prior to CCSC, he was part of the New Teachers Collaborative and taught at the Sizer School, formerly the North Central Charter Essential School in Fitchburg. He has also taught in rural Kenya through Global Routes. He grew up in New York City and attended Central Park East II in East Harlem in elementary school adn Ethical Culture Fieldston School in high school. He and his wife live a short bike ride from CCSC with their young son and their dog.


    Through its brief, but intense, summer session, the NTC provided me with a necessary introduction to both the larger educational issues which we ponder as teachers and the smaller, more routine occurrences we encounter in the classroom on a daily basis. In addition to providing a curriculum on adolescent psychology, special education, and the history of American educational reform, the intimate community created through the NTC is continuing to serve as a group to which I feel comfortable turning when confronted with the challenges of this profession. The NTC has blended a study of the craft of teaching with the ability to experience pedagogical issues in real time on the job; I cannot imagine diving into this world any other way.


    Jen Spingla, Science Teacher, The Sizer School

    B.S., University of Maine


    Jen Spingla graduated from the University of Maine in 1996 with a B.S. in Horticulture. During and after college she worked as a youth expedition leader and experiential educator along the coast of Maine. She also co-instructed an outdoor leadership and marine science course for high school students to earn college credit through Franklin Pierce College and the Marine Awareness Research Expedition School. Jen taught 7th and 8th grade science at the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School and is currently teaching at the Sizer School, formerly, the North Central Charter Essential School, in Fitchburg.


    NTC provides the perfect bridge between academic learning and hands-on experience. Through NTC, we are provided with the opportunity to simultaneously be both teachers and learners; what we learn is reinforced in the best possible way, through real life experience. I considered graduate school as a means of obtaining teaching certification but it removed me from the very thing that had drawn me to teaching, the students.

  • About the Director

    Ruth Whalen Crockett, Director of the New Teachers Collaborative, holds a B.A. in Spanish from Beloit College and a M.Ed in Teacher Leadership from the Harvard University School of Education. She possesses significant classroom experience, having taught all levels of Spanish at the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School since 1998. She also advised and instructed Parker Seniors on the Senior Project for over ten years.


    Ruth has also taught in a traditional high school in Wisconsin, and worked at Innovation Academy Charter School, a successful Massachusetts charter school that is also a participating school of NTC.


    Ruth has led a number of workshops and professional development experiences on student-centered learning, inquiry based instruction, senior projects and curriculum design. Ruth also serves as a National Facilitator for the School Reform Initiative. 


    Ruth supports teachers and school leaders as they learn to engage courageously to create equitable schools for children and families. Ruth believes school improvement starts when adults reflect deeply on their experiences as learners and envision schools as dynamic sites for equitable collaboration, problem solving and self-reflection. Many times this requires us to detach and "unschool" ourselves so that together we can create a new educational narrative for children and adults in schools.

Ruth Whalen Crockett

Director, New Teachers Collaborative

More Details

New Teachers Collaborative
Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School
49 Antietam Street
Devens, MA 01434
Phone: (978) 772-2885
Fax: (978) 772-3295

[email protected]

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