Urban Teaching Apprenticeship, M.S.Ed.

Year-long apprenticeship in urban classroom

The year-long UTAP apprenticeship differs from traditional teacher education programs where students might spend only a short period—perhaps as little as 12 weeks—student teaching. Our apprenticeships begin in the summer and span 10 months, with over 800 hours of fieldwork, immersing our apprentices in the teaching environment.

Purposeful mentorship and instructional coaching

Mentored field experiences are the core of UTAP’s practice-based approach to teacher preparation.

Classroom Mentors are highly-skilled, practicing teachers who share their classrooms and knowledge with apprentices every day.
Instructional Coaches are key members of our clinical faculty who co-teach courses and facilitate school-based studio days with partner schools to model practices in real-time with real students.

Penn Mentors work with apprentices at the school site weekly to provide ongoing support and help bridge university coursework to the field. Most Penn Mentors have 10 to 30 years of teaching experience in urban classrooms. 

A diverse and committed cohort

The UTAP program is cohort-based: all apprentices begin and move through the program together, sharing classes and experiences in their schools. Grade level and content area specializations allow for smaller cohorts with a shared focus. We seek to build a diverse cohort of students who have demonstrated commitment to urban education and student-centered teaching.

Advocacy & leadership: equity in education

UTAP prepares graduates to take on leadership roles, particularly those that position teachers as advocates for all students, effectively advocating for students within marginalized communities.

Practitioner research to develop rigorous content teaching

UTAP models an inquiry stance, in which our apprentices see themselves not only as consumers of research but generators of it, using their own classrooms as sites for ongoing research and self-reflection to support deep student learning of content.

Our program prepares ethical, reflective, collaborative, and visionary educational leaders. Our prospective teachers leave the program prepared to use the power of teaching to deepen student learning, transform schools, increase educational equity, and move into leadership roles. We are guided by the following commitments:

Commitment to Diversity & Equity

The Urban Teaching Apprenticeship program asserts that: 1) diversity is a strength; 2) we have a role in preparing participants in a diverse, democratic society; 3) by preparing the next generation of teachers, we can contribute to disrupting cycles of injustice in today’s culture and society.

Commitment to Inquiry

We cultivate teacher capacity to engage in inquiry about their teaching practice and the systems that support and hinder student achievement. Apprentices conduct research in their classrooms, becoming not only consumers of research but also generators of it.

Commitment to Practice

Teacher education and development need to focus on the practice of teaching—not just building teacher knowledge. Penn GSE as a research university is uniquely positioned to generate research to identify core teaching practices that apprentices learn and adapt to a range of classroom and school contexts.

Commitment to Partnership

Cross-institutional partnerships are essential to the growth of new teachers and the schools and communities they serve. Our program collaborates with key stakeholders, community organizations, and schools to provide professional development, develop curricula, and place apprentices to support student learning. Learn more about our school partners in the Penn GSE in Philadelphia map.

Commitment to Research-informed Work

Too many reform efforts in teacher education are insufficiently studied to determine quality and impact on student learning. Through a partnership with the Penn GSE Collaboratory for Teacher Education, our program is committed to drawing on research to inform practice and conducting the rigorous research necessary to determine the impact of our teacher preparation program on student learning.

School District of Philadelphia

The Urban Teaching Apprenticeship Program partners with the School District of Philadelphia, working together in over 25 schools throughout the district.

Our Partners

Our partner schools vary from year to year, so we cannot guarantee any specific school placement. However, during the past year, our partner schools have included:

Elementary/Middle Level School Partners

• Penn Alexander
• Benjamin B. Comegys School
• General G. A. McCall School
• Overbrook Education Center
• George Nebinger School
• Joseph W. Catharine School
• Vare-Washington School
• Henry C. Lea School
• Richard Wright School

Secondary Education School Partners

• Academy of Palumbo
• Furness High School
• Science Leadership Academy @ Center City
• Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber
• William L. Sayre High School
• Kensington Health Sciences Academy
• Walter B. Saul High School
• Mastery Charter School - Shoemaker Campus