Seminar
The heart of the program is an ongoing seminar of 15 students that is led by the same faculty member. Each semester, the seminar’s work takes on a topical focus. Under the umbrella of the seminar, each student organizes and then carries out her individualized program of preparation.

Apprenticeship
Each CEC student will spend one day a week in a school of her choice, working with a teacher who she respects highly and who has consented to become the student’s mentor; the student becomes, in a sense, the teacher’s apprentice throughout the professional preparation. CEC students will also have the opportunity to work at the Boys and Girls Clubs as part of the Quest Atlantis program.

Portfolio of Expectations
The CEC has established a list of 21 Program Expectations that each student will fulfill during their tenure in the program. The Expectations are closely related to the real work of teachers. The student amasses evidence of his or her teaching in a portfolio; it is the portfolio that supports the case that she must make to the faculty, to her mentor teacher, and ultimately to a hiring principal or superintendent, that she is, indeed, ready to enter the profession.

Network of Support
A central goal of the CEC is to foster a network of colleagues who will provide friendship and critique, supporting each other so that all may grow. A critical friend is someone who will support others in their development, providing feedback, asking provocative questions, offering another perspective on issues, and providing critique (both positive and negative) of your work. While many associate critique with judgment and negative comments, that is only part of the story. Critique entails supporting colleagues as they move along their growth trajectory, helping him or her augment her strengths and address challenges so that we can become reflective practitioners.