Jeanette Bartley and Bill Kennedy Appointed Co-Directors of the UChicago Urban Teacher Education Program

The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute has appointed two of its senior leaders and educators, Jeanette Bartley and Bill Kennedy, Co-Directors of its UChicago Urban Teacher Education Program (UChicago UTEP). Together, they will oversee UTEP’s program design, curriculum, and program operations, as well as the recruitment of students, staff, faculty, and clinical instructors. Bartley and Kennedy are already experienced leaders within UTEP; they were assistant directors of its Middle and Elementary Grades programs, respectively, and have both put in intensive work advising UTEP’s residents as well as teaching a wide range of classes.
 
Bartley and Kennedy also come to the Director position with more than 20 years of combined teaching experience and an impressive set of experiences in coaching, instructional leadership, and preparing teachers for successful, long-lasting careers in urban school districts across the country. 
 
“As UTEP enters its 15th year, it will be well-poised to continue to prepare excellent teachers to succeed, lead, and persist in urban teaching under Jeanette and Bill’s dynamic, thoughtful, and experienced co-leadership. UTEP could not be in better hands,” said Sara Ray Stoelinga, the Sara Liston Spurlark Director of the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute.
 
Jeanette Bartley is a lifelong contributor to education. After a decade teaching science at public schools across many different disciplines and levels, Bartley turned to teacher education, leading classes in Science Content and Science Methods at UTEP. She also co-led UTEP’s Teaching and Learning Seminar, supervised middle grades residents, and served as assitant director of UTEP’s Middle Grades Licensure Pathway.
 
“Part of being an educator is believing in your students no matter what their circumstances are. I believe that all students deserve teachers who see beyond the surface and reach them at levels that not only motivate them, but help them believe in themselves as learners. This is a key mission of UTEP—educating the whole teacher through analysis of who they are and what they bring to their students beyond just the academics. I am excited to continue the work of moving UTEP forward as we prepare preservice teachers to become the teachers that all students need and deserve,” said Bartley.
 
Bill Kennedy also has a rich background in educating students and teachers alike. From 1994 to 2005, Kennedy taught and served as an assistant director in New York City Public Schools. He then transitioned to teacher education and joined the New Teacher Network, which later became the Chicago New Teacher Center. Upon joining UTEP in 2008, Bill co-led the Elementary Residency Year for five years and has taught UTEP’s Social Studies Methods and Teaching and Learning in Urban Schools courses, overseeing UTEP residents’ fieldwork and internship site placements. Most recently, he served as assistant director of UTEP’s Elementary Pathway.
 
“What I find exciting about UTEP is that it strives to stay at the forefront of context-specific teacher education—drawing from critically-oriented research on trauma, community capital, and race, class, gender, and sexuality to create liberatory classroom practices that promote achievement and critical thinking. I am thrilled to take on this leadership position and uphold UTEP’s standards of excellence in service of urban teachers and students.”
 
UChicago UTEP prepares teachers to succeed in urban schools using a research-based model that emphasizes context-specific preparation—fostering an in-depth understanding of the communities, not just classrooms, in which its residents will teach. After a foundations year and a residency year culminating in a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, teachers who remain in Chicago Public Schools receive three years of post-graduation support in their classrooms, and 92 percent remain teaching in urban schools five years later. This retention rate far exceeds the national average for urban public school teachers, which is approximately 50 percent. UTEP also boasts an impressive alumni roster that includes Golden Apple Award winning teachers, instructional leaders, and administrators.

“I am so excited to have Jeanette and Bill spearheading the critically important work of UChicago UTEP,” Stoelinga said. “They bring a deep knowledge of practice from their experiences as teachers and teacher educators. These experiences as well as their long-term commitment to molding and shaping UTEP over many years make them particularly well-poised to assume this leadership role.”