Urban Teaching Academy

Based at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) The Urban Teaching Academy (UTA) is a successful teacher education and professional development program. The UTA has been selected as one of three exemplary teacher education residency models in the United States by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF).  In 2008 UTA was again recognized by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) as one of five K-16 partnerships nationally to be presented before Congress.

CSULB has a long-standing K-16 partnership with Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD). Its UTA school-based Master’s program and school-based teacher preparation program are acknowledged for their success in preparing and developing quality teachers for urban schools.

Under the direction of Dr. Felipe Golez and Dr. Linda Symcox UTA is a fully articulated ‘teaching hospital’ model providing on-site training and education for teachers at all levels of pre-and in-service teaching, ensuring a continuous “loop of learning.” 

Felipe Golez, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He is a Director of The Urban Teaching Academy. He is the former director of the Collaborative and Onsite for Optimal Learning (COOL) teacher preparation program that serves as the pilot for the current CSULB UTA. Dr. Golez is the director of the UTEACH program, the teacher preparation component of the UTA. He is a co-author of Reading Educational Research. In addition, Dr Golez has written articles, book chapters, and curricula on teacher education. Dr. Golez consults nationally developing collaborative teacher education residency programs. His research focuses on collaborative teacher education programs, action research and university/school partnerships. 

Linda Symcox, Ph.D., is a Professor of Teacher Education at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), and Director of the Graduate Program in Curriculum & Instruction. She serves as a Director of the CSULB Urban Teaching Academy. Dr. Symcox was formerly Associate Director of the National Center for History in the Schools, UCLA, and has spent the last 20 years engaged in teacher professional development, Dr. Symcox is author of Whose History: The Struggle for National Standards in American Classrooms, and she has written numerous articles, book chapters, and curricula in the field of history education and teacher development. She has co-edited two books in press: Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Standards: A Critical Framework for Educators and The Problem of the Canon and the Future of History Teaching.