Operation TEACH
Operation TEACH (Teachers Enlisted to Advance Catholic Heritage) is an innovative two-year post-graduate service program.
Operation TEACH seeks to develop a corps of highly motivated and committed educators to meet the needs of children in our region’s Catholic elementary and secondary schools.
Program options
Operation TEACH participants earn a master’s degree from Notre Dame. All costs associated with graduate education are covered by the Operation TEACH program as a plan of study is individually developed for participants depending on each student’s academic background and her or his professional goals.
Some of our degree options include:
- Master of Arts in teaching
- Master of Arts in leadership in teaching (with concentrations in special education, reading specialist, administration and supervision, and content area)
- Master of Arts in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
Courses are completed in Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring semesters and degrees are conferred after two years of study.
TEACHers represent a variety of undergraduate academic majors and come from a broad range of personal backgrounds and experiences. During their two-year service commitment, our students are enrolled in the graduate program at Notre Dame and complete a master's degree in education. Our students live in a community with other members of the program, sharing their experiences as new teachers and providing support and encouragement for each other. Through community living, our students help one another explore, strengthen and share their spirituality.
More details
- Operation TEACH students are interviewed by Baltimore-area Catholic schools and are hired by school principals. Our students and their principals play a critical role in matching your talents with the needs of an individual school.
- TEACHers are provided medical benefits during their two years of service through the contract they sign with the school in which they work.
- Graduates with no experience in education at all, as well as graduates who are already certified teachers, are welcome in our program.
- Living arrangements are in furnished community houses in the Baltimore area. Participants live in groups of seven to nine TEACHers. Each participant has a private bedroom and shares common living areas, such as the kitchen and living room.
- TEACHers earn a stipend of $11,500 per year.
- TEACHers are responsible for paying a small rent fee, community fund fee (covering food, utilities, fun, etc.), and any certification testing fees. Tuition, books, registration and graduation fees are paid by the program.
University Consortium for Catholic Education
Operation TEACH is part of the UCCE, the University Consortium for Catholic Education. The UCCE is a partnership of university programs joined by the common mission of recruiting and training faith-filled, energetic teachers to strengthen, sustain and serve in Catholic schools. These programs, based in colleges and universities across the country, are unique in their details, but all share the same basic components of professional development, community and spirituality.
More information about the UCCE for potential applicants to Operation TEACH, as well as a discussion forum for current TEACHers, alumni and other participants of UCCE programs can be found at www.ucceconnect.com.
Application
Timeline
- September-November Applicants receive operation TEACH information from University fairs or from the operation TEACH office.
- February 1 Application deadline
- January-February Applicant phone interviews
- March-April Candidate interviews with principals
- April Positions offered to candidates, contracts signed
- Late June-Early July New Operation TEACH members report for orientation
- Late July-Early August New Operation TEACH members move into communities