CITY COLLEGES OF CHICAGO ANNOUNCES MEN OF COLOR IN EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, Juan Salgado (pictured), recently announced the Men of Color in Education Initiative that will provide mentorship to men of color in Chicago that are interested in pursuing a career in early childhood education. Photo Caption: Katherine Newman
Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, Juan Salgado (pictured), recently announced the Men of Color in Education Initiative that will provide mentorship to men of color in Chicago that are interested in pursuing a career in early childhood education. Photo Caption: Katherine Newman

City Colleges Of Chicago Announces Men Of Color In Education Initiative

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

City Colleges of Chicago along with Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced the Men of Color in Education initiative which is a program designed to support men of color who are interested in pursuing careers in the education field. The program will provide students with college coursework, mentorship, and work-based learning experiences.

“We have a challenge in early childhood education specifically of finding teachers. When we look at the education field as a career path its overall low and early childhood education is the lowest of the low within that field,” said Emanuel. “We are making a special effort to recruit teachers to help us meet our obligation of offering universal full-day pre-k for every child in the City of Chicago.

I think this is an important effort for the city because when this is done we will as a city have added four years of education to a Childs life in Chicago,” said Emanuel.

Men of color that are already in the education field will be leading the Men of Color in Education initiative and will work with students that are considering a career in education. Through the initiative, participants will be able to earn a college-level early childhood credential or 15 transfer credits in just three semesters.

“To know that you are entering some new space and territory with people that care about you and are going to mentor you along the way is an incredibly important sense of confidence, not just in your ability but in the fact that you have people around you that will support you,” said Juan Salgado, chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago.

Three distinct groups of students will make up the Men of Color In Education Initiative. The first group will be comprised of current City Colleges students, and the second group will include Chicagoans that are interested in obtaining certification, and the third group will be made up of Chicago Public Schools students and will allow them to take coursework at City Colleges for free while they are still in high school.

Students in all three groups will receive career-readiness lessons from mentors that are part of Chicago’s pre-k through high school and higher education teaching community. Aside from providing opportunities for students, this initiative will also create a stronger network of support for

men of color that are already working in the education field and participating as mentors.

In addition to receiving their early childhood education credentials or 15 transfer credits, students will also have the opportunity to participate in an introductory paid internship and upon completion of initial coursework, a paid externship through One Summer Chicago.

To learn more about the Men of Color in Education initiative or to apply, students should contact Hollie Ware-Jaye at 773- 907-4456 or hwarejaye@ccc.edu.

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