About Us
Mission Statement - Teacher Education Department
The University of San Francisco Teacher Education Department (TED) is committed to preparing strong, dedicated, and creative teachers for today’s increasingly diverse schools. We want the teachers we graduate to be reflective practitioners who foster intellectual growth, holistic development, and a multicultural democratic community in their classrooms and schools. We want these teachers to provide their students – especially those most vulnerable to systemic injustices – an equitable, responsive, and empowering education.
Our program aspires to actualize principles of social justice and the inherent dignity of all people – reflecting the Jesuit mission of USF – in the struggle against multiple forms of oppression. These principles include humanizing relationships, democratic participation, critical inquiry, and collective action for the common good. We hope our graduates, whether they teach under-served or privileged populations in public, parochial, or independent schools, leave TED with a deepened social consciousness that will shape their work. We believe that education should be a joyous and creative endeavor and that its primary purpose should be to shape a more just, humane, and healthy world.
Our graduates should have a vision informed by these principles and theories of education, and an array of pedagogical and curricular tools grounded in classroom practice. At the same time, they should understand the challenges and complexities of teaching, especially within urban contexts.
We seek to respond to the needs of San Francisco Unified and other Bay Area districts. With a focus on teaching in urban schools, we place a high priority on diversifying the teaching profession, to make teachers in schools more closely resemble the students they teach.
Relationship of Teacher Education - Hilltop Campus to Branch Campus Programs
While students enrolled in the Hilltop Campus credential programs of the Teacher Education Department and those enrolled in programs at branch campuses, in general, are subject to the same guidelines and procedures related to the Credential, the programs are distinct. Students enrolled on Hilltop Campus are not eligible to participate in classes held in the regions. Students enrolled at branch campuses are not eligible to participate in classes on Hilltop Campus. Students who wish to transfer program sites must formally petition the Teacher Education Department for such a transfer. In all such instances, approval of the Chair and Faculty of the Teacher Education Department is required before a student can change program sites.
SOE - Mission
The school’s mission is to act collectively and leverage our resources in ways that are driven by our Jesuit mission and responsive to our constituents’ needs. We strive to have a measurable impact in schools and communities, particularly for those most affected by injustice.
USF - Vision
The University of San Francisco will be internationally recognized as a premier Jesuit Catholic, urban university with a global perspective that educates leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world.
USF - Mission
The core mission of the university is to promote learning in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional students the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as persons and professionals, and the values and sensitivity necessary to be men and women for others.
The university will distinguish itself as a diverse, socially responsible learning community of high-quality scholarship and academic rigor sustained by a faith that does justice. The university will draw from the cultural, intellectual, and economic resources of the San Francisco Bay Area and its location on the Pacific Rim to enrich and strengthen its educational programs.
Faculty and Staff
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