The SUNY Old Westbury School of Education, in partnership with Hempstead Union Free School District, is one of two New York-based institutions of higher education included as the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity (BranchED) launched its fifth National Teacher Preparation Transformation Center cohort.
The university and its district partner join other institutions comprising the Transformation Center’s previous cohorts that are collectively focused on diversifying the teaching profession and intentionally addressing critical issues of educational equity for all students. Along with SUNY Old Westbury, Mercy University was included in the fifth BranchEd cohort.
Through participation in the Transformation Center — a three-year program supported by a $300,000 grant from BranchEd — SUNY Old Westbury joins a unique community of practice where each institution’s faculty, staff, and leadership and their respective school district partners can access enhanced resources and professional development, network with others, share data, and learn from each other to move forward with sustainability and innovation.
“The teacher education pipeline needs more qualified, diverse candidates to help educate the students of tomorrow," said Dr. Diana Sukhram, dean of the SUNY Old Westbury School of Education. "We are excited to be part of this program as we work to continuously improve our programs, strengthen our partnership with Hempstead Schools, develop the next generation of teachers to serve the increasingly multicultural student populations across the region.”
"We are excited to collaborate with BranchEd to foster diversity and excellence in education for our students. We know that the program will have a positive impact on our school community," said Regina Armstrong, superintendent of Hempstead Union Free School District.
The National Teacher Preparation Transformation Center program was created in 2018 by Dr. Cassandra Herring, BranchED’s founder, president, and CEO. Since then, BranchED’s work has been recognized with 2023 recipient of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education’s Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education and the Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings Award given by the HBCU Teacher Education Topical Action Group.
“The Empire State is home to one of the most diverse student populations in the country but only 23 percent of New York teachers are teachers of color,” said Dr. Herring. “We are excited to partner with these two universities to implement high-quality preparation for teachers who will serve the unique needs of all of the state’s students.”
BranchED focuses on enhancing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of individuals and institutions from PK-12 and higher education within the Minority Serving Institutions’ (MSIs) educator preparation program (EPP) ecosystem. The organization engages with MSI EPPs, their partners, and prospective candidates to develop strong teacher-candidate pipelines to boost program enrollment and graduation.
About Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity
BranchED is the first and only non-profit organization in the nation dedicated to strengthening and growing educator preparation at Minority Serving Institutions, with broader goals of both diversifying the teaching profession and intentionally addressing critical issues of educational equity for all students.