STARS Inclusive Adolescent Education Program

Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2013! Discounted Tuition for Fall 2013 Students!
New Pace University School of Education Inclusive Adolescent Education Degree Program Prepares Teachers to Meet Growing High School Challenges

Today's high schools are increasingly complex environments, with higher standards for teaching and learning, increased student diversity, the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes, and heightened public awareness of issues of school safety and community.

The Pace University School of Education is launching a new program in Fall 2013 for career changers and non-education degree holders looking to embark on a rewarding and fulfilling career in teaching high school. The MST in Inclusive Adolescent Education, also known as the STARS (Skilled Teachers Achieving Results for Students) Program, is a distinctive program that prepares educators to teach high school students with and without disabilities.

Program graduates will be dually certified adolescent and special education educators prepared to drive student success in the rigorous high school environment, while focusing on the social, behavioral and academic development of all students. The five-semester program on our Westchester campus prepares teacher candidates to demonstrate mastery of a content area and work with high school students -regardless of their learning status - by purposefully embedding content and fieldwork experiences related to general education, special education, and teaching English language learners throughout the program curriculum.

The STARS Inclusive Adolescent Education Program was developed with a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs by School of Education Professors and Co-PIs Leslie Soodak, PhD, and Roberta Wiener, EdD, and is based on in-depth research. Drs. Soodak and Wiener were leaders of a program development effort that involved a large number of School of Education adolescent and special education faculty. The STARS Inclusive Adolescent Education Program is the first truly integrated program of its kind in the metropolitan area, and is one of few fully integrated inclusive secondary teacher education programs nationally. 

For more information about the program, contact Dr. Leslie Soodak at (914) 773-3875 or lsoodak@pace.edu or Dr. Roberta Wiener at (914) 773-3804 or rwiener2@pace.edu.