Special Projects
SUCCESS VIA APPRENTICESHIP (SVA) PROGRAM
For the past seven years, New York City College of Technology has been in the forefront of assisting New York City Department of Education in its efforts to address the increasing shortage of certified teachers of Career and Technical Education (CTE) subjects and technology education. The College's Department of Career and Technology Teacher Education (CTTE) offers the only two baccalaureate degree programs within CUNY for preparing high school CTE and PreK-12 technology education teachers.
The CTTE department has attracted a number of funded projects aimed at the recruitment, preparation, and professional development of technology education and CTE teachers. Prominent among these projects is the Success Via Apprenticeship (formerly Substitute Vocational Assistant) (SVA) Program, which is a joint project of the New York City Department of Education, the City University of New York, and the United Federation of Teachers. The SVA program recruits outstanding NYC high school graduates and, over a five-year period, provides them with college-level coursework, high school classroom internships, and industrial work experience required for New York State provisional/initial teaching certificate.
Program graduates are contractually obligated to teach in New York City public schools for at least three years immediately following graduation. The SVA program is often described as "the best kept secret" within the New York City Department of Education and has provided the system with outstanding young CTE teachers, many of whom have gone on to earn advanced degrees and have moved into administrative and supervisory positions.
TEACHER OPPORTUNITY CORPS PROGRAM
The Teacher Opportunity Corps ( TOC ) program is a New York State-funded grant program designed to enhance the preparation of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and technology education preservice teachers in addressing the learning needs of K-12 students who are at risk of academic failure. One of the goals of the program is to increase the participation rate of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations in teaching careers. Funds from the grant support a variety of activities including mentoring, test preparation, and writing workshops as well as stipends and tuition support for program participants.
NEW YORK STATE CURRICULUM FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION
As Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Nwoke collaborated with Hofstra University for the New York State Curriculum for Advanced Technological Education (NYSCATE) project. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the NYSCATE project was designed to support the development, fieldtesting, and dissemination of 14 articulated grades 9-14 curriculum modules in three overarching areas of technology, namely, Physical Technology (Materials and Manufacturing), Bio/Chemical Technology, and Information Technology (IT). The IT Pod for which Dr. Nwoke was responsible, developed four modules - two IT modules for use in high school IT programs and two modules for use in Community College IT programs.
© New York CityTech Department of Career and Technology Teacher Education 2007
