Upon successful completion of the program, passing scores on all New York State-mandated tests, and New York State mandated training in Child Abuse and Maltreatment and School Violence Prevention, students will be recommended to the New York State Education Department for an initial certificate in Early Childhood, Childhood, or Early Childhood/Childhood Education. New York State and Title II of the 1999 National Higher Education Act require schools offering teacher education programs to publish their institutional pass rates on State Teacher Exams. Passing scores on all of the New York State Teacher Examinations—the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST), the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W), and the Content Specialty Test (CST) are exit criteria for this program.

Fifteen students graduated from the Art of Teaching program in calendar year 2008. Our records to date show that nine are employed in elementary schools; three are teaching in early childhood programs; one has been teaching overseas; one is in a Ph.D. program; and one has elected to stay at home with her family. According to the New York State Department of Labor, the fastest growing occupations in the region’s educational services industry include elementary school teachers and preschool and kindergarten teachers.