Professor Semel with students at the NCATE Poster Session in April 2004.
History Teacher of the Year Award for the State of New York: From the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Congratulations to Adam Stevens, Secondary Social Studies Program, Initial Certification MA, 2004.

Explanation of the Knowledge Base, Philosophy, and Goals and Objectives of the Secondary Social Studies Education Program(s).

The mission statement of The City College School of Education of The City University of the City of New York is to prepare knowledgeable, reflective, caring educators who are committed to teaching and leading in diverse communities. There are five strands within the mission statement that permeate the curriculum and pedagogy of the program. They are:

1. Educating for and about diversity
2. Developing in-depth knowledge about the world
3. Becoming skillful, reflective practitioners
4. Promoting leadership for learning
5. Building caring communities

The above mission statement and specific strands are infused throughout the Secondary Social Studies Programs. The Secondary Social Studies Program was reregistered in Spring, 2001 by the State of New York, Department of Education in Albany and reflects adherence to New York State Standards. Currently, there is no middle school designation on the re-registration course of study, however there are plans to implement a middle school designation in the future.

Students interested in one of the Secondary Social Studies programs should have a minimum of 21 credits in history. Among these credits there should be 6 hours in an American Survey course and 6 hours in a World Civilization course. Students who do not possess this preparation may be asked to take these courses at the undergraduate level at the discretion of the program head. Undergraduate students desiring to enter the program must have an overall GPA of 2.75 with a 3.0 in the major; graduate students must have an overall GPA of 3.0.

All Secondary Social Studies programs require an interview and a written on site essay as part of the admissions process. Applications must be filed by October 15th and by March 15th to be considered for admission.

Professor Semel and her students during a class session in the Multimedia Center to learn how to search the Internet (more photos)