News Release

The board of trustees of The Johns Hopkins University Monday approved the separation of the business and education programs in the university's School of Professional Studies in Business and Education to create two separate schools — The Johns Hopkins School of Education and The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. The new structure will take effect on Jan. 1, 2007. Ralph Fessler, who has served as dean of the School of Professional Studies since 1999, will become the dean of the new School of Education. A national search will begin immediately for a dean of the Carey Business School.

Ralph Fessler

"The creation of a School of Education is a wonderful opportunity to build upon Johns Hopkins' long-standing commitment to public education," Fessler said. "We will continue to address the most challenging issues facing public education today, with a focus on urban and urbanizing schools." (See http://tinyurl.com/y29uwu for more information on Fessler.)

Through its partnerships with schools across the region and the nation, the School of Education will be committed to expanding research and graduate programs that address the most pressing needs of pre-K-12 schools: recruiting, preparing and retaining a new generation of highly qualified teachers; building school leadership capacity in an era of heightened accountability; helping children with special needs to reach their full potential; developing research-based curricula focused on school improvement and enhanced student achievement; and ensuring a safe environment in all schools.

Commenting on the creation of the new School of Education, William R. Brody, president of The Johns Hopkins University, said, "Johns Hopkins already awards more than 500 masters' degrees in education a year, more than any other Maryland institution. A freestanding School of Education under Dr. Fessler's leadership will have the freedom to become even more innovative in building relationships with Maryland schools and in developing best practices for school-university partnerships nationwide."

The school will also continue to build relationships with other Johns Hopkins University schools to address the critical shortage of highly qualified teachers in science, technology and mathematics, and will expand collaborative research and development activities that address teaching and learning in high need schools.

Building upon current programs, the School of Education will offer a variety of graduate and certificate programs in teacher preparation, special education, counseling, educational leadership, reading and educational technology. (See www.education.jhu.edu for more specific information.) Doctoral degrees are offered in special education and in teacher development and leadership.

In support of its priorities, the School of Education will house three distinctive research and development centers: the Center for Research and Reform in Education, the research and development unit of the nationally acclaimed Success for All program; the Center for Technology in Education, with its suite of instructional and assessment technologies now in use at pre-K-12 schools and universities across the country; and the Center for Summer Learning, a leading national voice in curriculum design and public policy focused on helping students bridge the summer learning gap.

In March 2006, the education programs moved into a newly renovated facility, located adjacent to the university's main Homewood campus. The building, which served as a Catholic high school for girls for more than 60 years, has maintained much of its historical architectural integrity while providing a modern, technology-rich learning environment. School of Education students will also attend classes at the Johns Hopkins Columbia Center and its Montgomery County Campus, both located in regions where faculty have formed partnerships and developed collaborative relationships with school systems and individual schools.

In addition to education programs, the school will house the Division of Public Safety Leadership, focused on building the leadership capacity of those responsible for ensuring the safety and security of both local neighborhoods and our nation as a whole. The Police Executive Leadership Program, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees now delivered in partnership with such federal agencies as the U.S. Secret Service, remains the division's core program but new offerings in intelligence analysis and homeland security leadership are poised to be launched in the coming year. The school's public safety and education faculty share several grants, work together to address issue of school safety and security, and collaboratively build educational programs in public safety leadership.

The education programs at Johns Hopkins are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).