School of Education

School of Education

A Warm Welcome from the Dean

Elizabeth R. Hinde, Professor and Dean

Welcome to the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. The faculty and staff of the School of Education are dedicated to preparing caring and excellent teachers and educational leaders who are decision-makers for the diverse contexts of urban classrooms, schools, and communities. We are in the business of making a positive difference in the lives of the next generations of children through excellent teaching in real classrooms in preschool through high school and beyond.

The award winning faculty in the School of Education are scholars, as well as experienced teachers of Preschool, Special Education, Elementary Education, and High School. We understand the realities, as well as the potential of today’s classrooms and schools. We know what real schools and classrooms are like, and, by virtue of our research and experience, have a clear vision for how they can be in order to sustain and revitalize our democratic society. Our mantra of “Teach, Lead, Transform” is realized through our research-based programs that prepare preschool through high school teachers at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and masters programs. We are proud of our partnerships with many school districts in the Front Range and throughout Colorado who are our collaborators and friends in providing the best preparation of teachers that is possible.

If you are interested in becoming a licensed Colorado teacher or if you are a teacher and would like to deepen your understanding and skills, I encourage you to explore our website and contact us. Our programs in early childhood education, elementary education, special education, and secondary education will help you achieve your dream of becoming someone who can make a real difference in the lives of children: a teacher. The School of Education works collaboratively across Metropolitan State University of Denver in providing the content and expertise needed in Physical Education, the Arts, and secondary content areas that lead to Colorado teacher licensure as well.

We are here to help you achieve your dreams. Please feel free to contact me, the department chairs, or any faculty and staff to find out how we can assist you.

This is simply a web welcome to the School of Education. I look forward to meeting you in person soon.

Elizabeth R. Hinde
Professor and Dean
School of Education
Metropolitan State University of Denver

"The School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver prepares people who will Teach, Lead, and Transform."

Metropolitan State University of Denver's School of Education develops excellent teachers and educational leaders who engage in reflective practice and scholarly activity, and who are ethical decision makers and agents of social change. 

We do this by:

• Providing intellectually rigorous, culturally relevant curriculum that fosters pedagogical expertise, cultivates critical thinking, and promotes imagination;
• Facilitating clinical placements that incorporate a diversity of perspectives and experiences;
• Creating and sustaining mutually beneficial school and community partnerships;
• Collaborating across disciplines to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning; and
• Attracting and retaining innovative faculty who model expertise within their professional communities.

The MSU Denver School of Education (SOE) actively promotes justice through diversity, equity and inclusion as critically important to its success. A major strength of our community is its ongoing commitment to recruit, support, and educate students, staff and faculty from different backgrounds, cultures and perspectives.

We acknowledge the present and historical systems of oppression and marginalization that permeate all levels of society and believe these structures of power and privilege need to be deeply understood by all members of our SOE community. We are committed to actively dismantling these systems and barriers within our SOE. We seek to create an environment that invites honest and respectful dialogue, treats community members with dignity and respect, and manage tensions and differing viewpoints with thoughtful engagement, conversation and inquiry.

Statement of Assurance: MSU Denver guarantees that its teacher education graduates have successfully completed a Teacher Licensure program approved by the Colorado State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. The Teacher Education curriculum of the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver assures that each teacher candidate has demonstrated thorough understanding of, and the ability to apply, the teaching strategies, the classroom management/school discipline methods and the measurement and evaluation tools necessary for success as a first-year licensed teacher.

In the event that the employing district of a teacher certified for licensure by MSU Denver, and appropriately placed within certification endorsement areas, finds that the teacher has displayed a lack of knowledge or competency in any of these pedagogical skills during the first year of teaching, the teacher may return to MSU Denver for up to one academic year after the problem is noted by the district, and audit the course(s) that correspond to the deficiency.  These classes will be provided at no cost to the school district or to the student.

School of Education Five-Year Strategic Plan – 2016-2021

Teach. Lead. Transform.
A Plan for Excellence in Education.

"The School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver prepares people who will Teach, Lead, and Transform."

Metropolitan State University of Denver's School of Education develops excellent teachers and educational leaders who engage in reflective practice and scholarly activity, and who are ethical decision makers and agents of social change. We do this by:

• Providing intellectually rigorous, culturally relevant curriculum that fosters pedagogical expertise, cultivates critical thinking, and promotes imagination;
• Facilitating clinical placements that incorporate a diversity of perspectives and experiences;
• Creating and sustaining mutually beneficial school and community partnerships;
• Collaborating across disciplines to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning; and
• Attracting and retaining innovative faculty who model expertise within their professional communities.

To strategically enact this vision, the MSU Denver School of Education has developed the following goals around excellence, inclusivity/diversity, and collaboration. Using information gathered from faculty, staff, community organizations, schools, school district personnel, and other stakeholders in PreK-12 education and teacher preparation, along with the MSU Denver Strategic Plan (Time of Transformation), the faculty and staff of the School of Education agreed on the following values and goals:

1. Excellence: The SOE faculty, staff, and students are committed to excellence in teaching and educator preparation through data-driven decision making.
   1. SOE will be responsive to community needs by preparing excellent educators and educational leaders.
   2. SOE will demonstrate expertise (e.g. content areas, pedagogical practices, job responsibilities).
   3. SOE will evaluate and refine the process of providing students with high quality field placements with effective educators who demonstrate excellence in the field.
   4. SOE will provide services and resources to support all SOE students from recruitment through program completion.
   5. SOE will sustain its commitment to the Teacher Guarantee that allows graduates who have been found to lack knowledge or competency in teaching to return to the program to audit appropriate courses free of charge, as described on the SOE website.
2. Inclusivity/Diversity: The SOE is committed to being representative and reflective of the population that it serves.
   1. SOE will demonstrate increased rates of inclusivity/diversity of our student population to represent the cultural and ethnic demographics of the communities they are being prepared to serve.
   2. SOE will actively recruit and work to retain faculty and staff that reflects the populations we serve.
   3. SOE will continually evaluate and improve academic programs and student services to ensure that students are prepared to meet the needs of the population they will serve.
3. Collaboration: The SOE is committed to fostering collaboration among internal and external stakeholders dedicated to excellence in teaching and educator preparation.
   1. SOE will foster and support respectful and mutually beneficial relationships with schools, districts and educational facilities.
   2. SOE will develop and maintain respectful and mutually beneficial relationships with professional and community non-profit and for-profit organizations that align with SOE’s mission and strategic plan.
   3. SOE will engage in respectful and mutually beneficial collaborations with programs, departments, and units within the institution.

For information on the plan to measure progress toward each goal, please contact us at education@msudenver.edu.

(click an image to download a full size PDF containing all four charts)