Beyond Degree Programs: How a Major University Immersed Itself in the Educational Landscape of New York City

Abstract

In 2006 the Center for Educational Partnerships was established as the “outreach arm” of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. In so doing, Fordham reimagined the role of higher education to go beyond degree granting programs, faculty expertise and research opportunities. In this paper, we describe how what began in 2006 as a vision to strengthen the presence of the Graduate School of Education in New York City public schools has grown into a thriving Center that touches the lives of more than 500,000 students in grades PreK to 12, thousands of teachers, and hundreds of administrators and parents throughout New York City. We outline how each phase of Fordham’s involvement and work developed during New York City’s major educational reform agenda, resulting from the New York State Legislature’s granting the City’s mayor control of New York City’s 1,500 public schools in 2002.