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Salem State’s McKeown School of Education is launching the Institute for Advancing Education and the Educator Workforce (IAE²), pronounced IAE squared, which is made possible through Cummings Foundation. The institute continues to receive grants through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and private donations as well.
The institute stems from Cummings Foundation’s historic $10 million gift in 2022, aiding community partnerships, such as school district collaboration, to further strengthen and diversify the educator workforce. Our most recent award, a $600,000 grant from the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education, establishes Salem State as a regional licensure assistance center, helping educators with emergency teaching licenses grow in the teaching profession and transition into their initial license.
“The private and public funding we’ve received enhances and expands our impact in relation to recruiting, retaining, sustaining, and diversifying the North Shore’s education workforce,” Associate Dean Nicole Harris, PhD explains.
IAE² aims to influence more equitable educational practices and outcomes and is comprised of various centers, programs and initiatives within the McKeown School of Education–from Educator-Scholars of Color, aimed at diversifying the teacher pipeline, to the Center for Educational Leadership, focused on providing professional development to educational leaders in our region’s school districts. Other programs include the Community of Inclusive Scholars, powered through the MAIPSE grant, Teacher Pipeline Development Initiatives, Early Childhood Career Pathways, and more.
As the interim executive director of the Institute for Advancing Education and the Educator Workforce, Harris lauds the impact of this critical programming, saying, “We’ve increased the graduation rate of the McKeown School of Education’s undergraduate students of color pursuing teacher licensure by 400 percent and supported hundreds of educators through professional development and degree and licensure transition to help sustain and retain them in the teaching field.”
The institute’s objectives complement the McKeown School of Education’s core mission of educator preparation, providing infrastructure and support to programming that stretches across the lifespan.
“We’re implementing innovative solutions at the McKeown School of Education to address the challenges faced by our public education system,” said Joe Cambone, EdD, retired dean of the McKeown School of Education. “Educators work tirelessly for the benefit of their students and the progress of our society. We must be ready to support them, their students and the school districts.”
Through the McKeown School of Education’s established infrastructure and programming, the institute’s community-engaged initiatives will continue to flourish, address the needs of our diverse communities and influence student and educator success.