Relay Graduate School of Education Partners with New York City Department of Education

Relay GSE to Prepare Teaching Fellows Beginning in Fall 2012

NEW YORK, NY – September 6, 2012 – Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay GSE) today announced a partnership with the New York City Department of Education and its NYC Teaching Fellows program. Through the partnership, Relay GSE has enrolled approximately 55 NYC Teaching Fellows, all of whom are full-time first-year teachers of record at NYC district public schools, for the 2012-2013 academic year.

NYC Teaching Fellows join a cohort of nearly 400 Relay GSE graduate students, including 100 district public school teachers. They will follow Relay GSE’s unique academic program which emphasizes concrete teaching techniques and the use of video to share the leading practices of exemplary teachers. With 60% of its instruction conducted in-person through three class sessions per month and 40% of the instruction delivered online, the Relay GSE hybrid teaching model provides its graduate students with an optimal learning experience. Relay GSE classes are taught by professors who themselves were outstanding K-12 teachers. And, Relay GSE’s Master’s program is the first ever to require its students to demonstrate proficiency and achievement in the classroom in order to earn their degree.

The NYC Teaching Fellows program was launched in 2000 to address the severe teacher shortage in the NYC public school system. An initiative of the NYC Department of Education, the Fellowship recruits, selects, and prepares talented professionals and recent graduates to become NYC public school teachers. In the 2012-2013 school year NYC Teaching Fellows will bring nearly 850 new teachers into NYC public school classrooms.

“Since Relay GSE’s inception, we’ve been eager to work with the NYC Department of Education to train teachers in our city’s district public schools,” said Norman Atkins, Relay GSE's Co-Founder and President. “Working with NYC Teaching Fellows will allow us to work with and develop a larger group of novice teachers and, more importantly, improve the learning outcomes of more students across our city.”

David Weiner, Deputy Chancellor for Talent, Labor and Innovation for the NYC Department of Education shared his enthusiasm about the new partnership. “We embrace this partnership with Relay GSE, and look forward to working together to improve the quality of instruction in our schools. Relay GSE’s innovative model will support our Teaching Fellows to excel in our city’s highest need classrooms.”

Kimberly Osagie, the Director of Relay GSE’s NYC Teaching Fellows program said, “Learning to teach in a district school was one of the most rewarding experiences of my development as an educator. I often wished, however, that I’d received additional practical support, to shift my focus from striving to truly thriving in the classroom. I look forward to helping NYC Teaching Fellows at Relay GSE thrive in district schools across the city.”

About Relay Graduate School of Education

Relay Graduate School of Education (Relay GSE), licensed by New York State in 2011 and formerly known as Teacher U, is a new, independent graduate school with a ground-breaking master’s degree program designed specifically to respond to today’s urgent demand for effective teachers in low-income communities. Relay GSE’s Master’s Program is the first ever to require its graduate students to demonstrate proficiency and achievement while teaching in their K-12 classrooms to earn a degree. Relay GSE is positioned to bring about transformational change in teacher preparation, becoming the place where a new generation of continuously-improving, results-focused individuals can fulfill their destiny in the world’s greatest profession. For more information, please visit the Relay GSE website (www.relay.edu) or follow Relay GSE on Twitter (@RelayGSE).

About New York City Teaching Fellows

The NYC Teaching Fellows program was created in 2000 to recruit talented teaching candidates from non-traditional backgrounds to work in New York City’s hardest-to-staff schools and in high-need subject areas such as special education, science, and math. Since 2000, the Fellowship has drawn nearly 190,000 applications and provided the New York City public school system with over 17,000 talented new teachers. Today, 11 percent of teachers in New York City public schools started their teaching careers as NYC Teaching Fellows. For more information, please visit the NYC Teaching Fellows website: www.nycteachingfellows.org.