Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Catholic Schools has teamed with three Chicago-area universities in a series of new initiatives that place individuals who are working toward their master’s degrees in education in teaching positions at Catholic schools that are in need of teachers. The new initiative is part of an ongoing commitment by the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Schools to help ensure that Catholic elementary and secondary schools – particularly those in economically disadvantaged areas of the archdiocese – remain staffed by qualified professional educators, according to Nicholas M. Wolsonovich, Ph.D., superintendent of Archdiocese of Chicago schools.

Individuals enroll in one of three teacher service programs sponsored by DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago and Valparaiso University on a tuition-free basis to complete their master’s degrees over two summers and during two school years, while teaching in Archdiocese of Chicago schools. Each participant makes a two-year commitment to teach in a Catholic school. The school funds the university program and a stipend for each participating teacher. The funding is accomplished through a formula in which schools divide the equivalent of a first-year teacher’s wages between the stipend and university program costs. Participants are full-time employees of the Archdiocese of Chicago and receive employee benefits in addition to the stipend from their school.

The new teachers live in community with others in the program in affordable housing provided through their sponsoring university. In community, they share household chores, study together and share their faith journeys with each other and with their students.

Participants in each of the three programs hail from cities around the country and have undergraduate backgrounds as diverse as agricultural sciences, business, economics, education and industrial design. Individuals in the DePaul program all have degrees in education and hold teaching certificates. While teaching in their own classrooms, participants in all three programs are exploring a career in Catholic education beyond their two-year program commitment.

Here are some specific details of each program:

DePaul University Vincentian Urban Educators (VUE) Program

• VUE is a service-based initiative in which DePaul graduates who are already state certified work in participating Catholic elementary and secondary schools in urban settings within the city of Chicago while earning a master’s degree tuition-free from the university.
• One of the goals of the initiative is to establish a cadre of qualified teachers from DePaul University to feed into the Catholic school system in Chicago. Another goal is to for teachers to gain an appreciation for Catholic urban education and remain committed to it during their career.
• In lieu of tuition and salary, participants make a two-year commitment to attend year-round classes at DePaul, including summer sessions, and serve as resident teachers who live, work and study in a community with other resident teachers in the program.
• Each resident teacher is a recent DePaul graduate who has an undergraduate degree in elementary or secondary education, has student teaching experience and an initial certificate. Each new teacher is paired with a veteran Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic elementary or secondary school educator who serves as a mentor, providing guidance and support. Resident teachers also receive support from a program mentor coordinator, who provides resources and leads professional development programs.
• Mentoring is a key component of the VUE program. Recent studies suggest that mentoring of novice teachers may play a significant role in the retention of educators.
• Not all participants in the program are practicing Catholics. VUE, like the university itself, celebrates diversity and strives to view all faiths within the context of teaching and service in the tradition of DePaul’s patron, St. Vincent.
• During the 2003-04 academic year, members of the pilot group of six VUE Program resident teachers will serve as full-time educators in the following Archdiocese of Chicago elementary and secondary schools:

- St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr, 2813 N. Lorel Ave., Chicago
- St. Mary of the Lake, 1026 W. Buena Ave., Chicago
- St. Thomas of Canterbury, 4827 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago
- Maria High School, 6727 S. California Ave., Chicago

Loyola University Chicago LU-Choice Program

• Recently launched by Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education, LU-Choice enables college graduates with bachelor’s degrees in any field of study to pursue a tuition-free master of education degree and Illinois teacher certification through the university. In return, participants in the two-year service program teach in Catholic elementary schools in economically disadvantaged areas of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
• Each participant receives in-classroom guidance from an assigned mentor – a teacher at the Catholic school to which the participant is assigned – as well as from a Loyola faculty member and program leaders.
• Participants receive a stipend for living and reside in community with other participants in affordable housing provided by the program. They share meals, household chores and community prayer as well as participate in retreats and other opportunities to deepen their faith.
• University officials report that the program will serve the Archdiocese of Chicago by placing highly motivated, well-educated young adults in the classrooms of Catholic schools while providing participants a highly supportive environment in which to develop their teaching skills.
• LU-Choice welcomes graduates of Loyola and other academic institutions and encourages individuals who did not major in elementary or secondary education to join the program. None of the members of the first group of LU-Choice participants who began the program this summer has an undergraduate degree in education. Two are Loyola graduates.
• During the 2003-04 academic year, individuals who make up the program’s 15-member pilot group will serve as full-time teachers in the following Archdiocese of Chicago elementary schools:

- St. Clotilde, 312 E. 84th St., Chicago
- St. Frances of Rome, 1401 S. Austin Blvd., Cicero, Ill.
- St. Mary of Celle, 1448 S. Wesley Ave., Berwyn, Ill.
- St. Mark, 2510 W. Cortez St., Chicago
- St. Paul - Our Lady of Vilna, 2114 W. 22nd Pl., Chicago
- St. Philomena, 4131 W. Cortland Ave., Chicago
- Our Lady of Tepeyac, 2235 S. Albany Ave., Chicago
- Our Lady of Charity, 3620 S. 57th Ct., Cicero, Ill.
- St. Ann, 2211 W. 18th Pl., Chicago
- St. Agnes of Bohemia, 2643 S. Central Park Ave., Chicago

Valparaiso University Lutheran Education Alliance with Parochial Schools (LEAPs) Program

• Valparaiso University’s LEAPs Program is serving Archdiocese of Chicago schools for the first time. Four of the program’s 24 newest participants are full-time educators in three Catholic schools on Chicago’s south side during the 2003-04 academic year.
• Now in its third year, the LEAPs Program places individuals as paid teachers-in-training in elementary and secondary parochial schools in Chicago and Northwest Indiana that are in need of educators. The two-year program is open to individuals who wish to become teachers and who hold bachelor’s degrees in areas other than education. Participants receive tuition benefits for Valparaiso University and a stipend while they complete master’s degree coursework on the university’s campus during two summers and online during each of two academic years. Through the program, participants also obtain Indiana state teacher certification, which enables them to teach in Illinois as the result of a reciprocal arrangement between the two states.
• In addition to teaching preparation, the program also focuses on spirituality and sharing of faith. Participants live and pray together in community as part of the experience. During the summer months, they reside in housing on the university campus and during the school year they live in housing arranged through the program near the school where they are assigned. The four who will teach in Catholic schools will reside in a convent at St. Barnabas parish along with seven of their counterparts who will be teaching in Lutheran schools in the Chicago area.
• The LEAPs Program will serve the following Catholic schools in Chicago during the 2003-04 academic year:

- St. Bride, 7765 S. Coles Ave., Chicago
- Our Lady of Guadalupe, 9050 S. Burley Ave., Chicago
- St. Barnabas, 10121 S. Longwood Dr., Chicago