Prepare Educators to Dismantle Disparities
The newly imagined School of Education will exemplify St. Thomas’ deep commitment to reaching and serving underrepresented young people who deserve access to an equitable education. It will be a hub where teachers are prepared to be a force for justice in our community and will help eliminate the extreme opportunity gaps in our Minnesota K-12 education system.
Our founder, Archbishop John Ireland, opened St. Thomas to educate underserved immigrants and eliminate barriers to their success. One hundred thirty-five years later, by building and operating a proposed lab school, the School of Education will model ways of dismantling disparities and ensuring that all children receive a high-quality education.
Related Themes
| 2025 Strategic Plan | Build Belonging and Promote Equity | Lean In to Our Catholic Mission |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare Educators to Dismantle Disparities | Priority | Priority |
See how the Themes and Priorities of the 2025 Strategic Plan interweave.
Measuring Progress
Success Metrics
- Annually, recruit and enroll a school administrative licensure cohort to increase the number of school leaders and directors who graduate with a St. Thomas degree.
- Increase the percentage of teacher candidates of color who complete the licensure programs and receive a Tier 3 (permanent) license from 76 percent to 85 percent.
- Increase K-12 partnerships to include all of the public school districts in the 7 county Metro Area. (We currently have 36 district partnerships out of 42 metro area districts and 5 intermediate and cooperative districts.)
- By 2025, establish a K-5 lab school that models inclusive education.
- Achieve five-year fundraising goal of $12.5 million.
Progress Update, February 2022
The St. Thomas 2025 Strategic Plan debuted in February 2021. We continually track and report on our progress; here are key developments from the past year, as of February 2024:
Maxfield Elementary School serves as the center of our strategic initiative to prepare educators to dismantle disparities. Our robust Maxfield 2030 strategic plan offers a bold commitment to moving the needle on K-12 student achievement and preparing educators and leaders to be forces for justice and change. We are prepared to actualize movement toward our core goals by crafting a program of work, including research, that will guide the coming five years and beyond. The focus of our work at Maxfield Elementary School will be threefold: (1) Improve learning outcomes, including academic outcomes, for students of color, students living in poverty, and/or students with special needs; (2) Enhance teacher preparation, pedagogical content knowledge, and self-efficacy to improve performance, satisfaction, and retention; and (3) Develop and improve frameworks for understanding school performance.
In conjunction with our collaborative learning school, teacher residency programs in the School of Education are leading the way in preparing educators to dismantle disparities. Current partnerships with St. Paul Public Schools, Minneapolis Public Schools, and a charter school consortium have been fortunate to leverage the strong district-university relationships built through the award-winning and innovative St. Paul Urban Teacher Residency (SUTR) program. Since 2016 SUTR has recruited and prepared over 350 students in 18 cohorts by removing barriers, preparing, and retaining teachers, a large percentage of which (65%) are teachers of color. In St. Paul, 81% of SUTR graduates are still teaching in-district, compared to the district average of 62% retention, and 91% of all graduates are still teaching in the state.
Key Leaders
- Amy Smith, Interim Dean of the School of Education
Success Metrics
Success Metrics
- Annually, recruit and enroll a school administrative licensure cohort to increase the number of school leaders and directors who graduate with a St. Thomas degree.
- Increase the percentage of teacher candidates of color who complete the licensure programs and receive a Tier 3 (permanent) license from 76 percent to 85 percent.
- Increase K-12 partnerships to include all of the public school districts in the 7 county Metro Area. (We currently have 36 district partnerships out of 42 metro area districts and 5 intermediate and cooperative districts.)
- By 2025, establish a K-5 lab school that models inclusive education.
- Achieve five-year fundraising goal of $12.5 million.
Progress Update
Progress Update, February 2022
The St. Thomas 2025 Strategic Plan debuted in February 2021. We continually track and report on our progress; here are key developments from the past year, as of February 2024:
Maxfield Elementary School serves as the center of our strategic initiative to prepare educators to dismantle disparities. Our robust Maxfield 2030 strategic plan offers a bold commitment to moving the needle on K-12 student achievement and preparing educators and leaders to be forces for justice and change. We are prepared to actualize movement toward our core goals by crafting a program of work, including research, that will guide the coming five years and beyond. The focus of our work at Maxfield Elementary School will be threefold: (1) Improve learning outcomes, including academic outcomes, for students of color, students living in poverty, and/or students with special needs; (2) Enhance teacher preparation, pedagogical content knowledge, and self-efficacy to improve performance, satisfaction, and retention; and (3) Develop and improve frameworks for understanding school performance.
In conjunction with our collaborative learning school, teacher residency programs in the School of Education are leading the way in preparing educators to dismantle disparities. Current partnerships with St. Paul Public Schools, Minneapolis Public Schools, and a charter school consortium have been fortunate to leverage the strong district-university relationships built through the award-winning and innovative St. Paul Urban Teacher Residency (SUTR) program. Since 2016 SUTR has recruited and prepared over 350 students in 18 cohorts by removing barriers, preparing, and retaining teachers, a large percentage of which (65%) are teachers of color. In St. Paul, 81% of SUTR graduates are still teaching in-district, compared to the district average of 62% retention, and 91% of all graduates are still teaching in the state.
Key Leaders
Key Leaders
- Amy Smith, Interim Dean of the School of Education