David Lewis is the Director
of Supporting Teachers, Supporting Teaching” (ST2), the
College of Education's $5.6 million Teacher Quality Enhancement
Grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. As Director,
David heads a team including faculty from the Colleges of Education
and Liberal Arts and Sciences, and CPS professional development
staff. They are working in West Side schools, with the goal of
improving teacher quality and teacher retention.
Born and raised in Chicago,
David taught eighth grade science at Woodson North on the South
Side. Most recently, he was the Associate Director of the University
of Maryland 's Urban Teacher Education Graduate Program. The program
prepared both recent college graduates and career changers for
certification in Baltimore schools. David developed and taught
graduate courses and supervised professional development sessions
for principals, teachers, and teacher interns, and served as liaison
among the University, partnership schools and school districts.
In both Baltimore and Chicago,
David's work has extended to after-school mentoring programs for
African American males. Giving young men the opportunity to see
the options they have in life, he says, is one of the things he
enjoys most.
He
sees ST2 as an exciting opportunity to equip UIC student teachers
with the skills they need to be effective in urban schools
