Jamaican learning community completes first semester

The first learning community in Jamaica in the M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning program finished its first full semester in late December 2008. Twenty-one students are participating in the learning community. Reports from students have been very positive and Jamaican colleagues have shared that there is increasing interest in the program as more teachers in the Mandeville area hear about it through their colleagues. The university is planning with its partner, the Catholic College of Mandeville, to begin a second cohort in Fall 2009.

Saint Mary’s will host a site confirmation visit by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the university’s accreditor, in Jamaica in early February. This one-day visit is the final step with the HLC in affirming the university’s ability to offer the M.Ed. in Jamaica. Questions regarding the Jamaica initiative can be directed to Suzanne Peterson, director of the M.Ed. Program, or Tracy Lehnertz, director of Institutional Effectiveness.