STEP Elementary is 12-month, full-time program leading to a Master of Arts in Education and a preliminary California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Its small size (approximately 20 candidates), access to top faculty and experienced cooperating teachers, and coherent design offer highly focused instruction interwoven with hands-on teaching experience, sustained mentoring and personalized advising. STEP recognizes the integration of the many areas of knowledge that underlie effective teaching and provides multiple opportunities for observing, planning, and practicing diverse pedagogical approaches in specific clinical contexts.
STEP Elementary teacher candidates gain an unusual amount of classroom experience in this year-long program, and, thus, are extremely well-prepared for their first year of professional teaching. Candidates participate in three field placements in local, public elementary schools, covering a range of grade levels. Teacher candidates are supported by exceptional cooperating teachers and university supervisors. Increasingly, classroom placements are with Partnership Schools that are actively engaged in projects of school reform and that have partnered with Stanford to combine professional training with cutting-edge school-based research. The teaching practicum consists of an average of sixteen hours a week at the school site and a weekly seminar at Stanford. Teaching responsibilities gradually increase during the year with the candidates' growth and development.
Elementary teacher candidates who are proficient in Spanish and meet additional requirements may earn a Bilingual Authorization to supplement their multiple subject credential.
A coterminal pathway into STEP is available to current Stanford University undergraduates.
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