So you’re interested in pursuing an educator’s preparation or professional advancement program, but unsure where to start? The Rice Education team shares four factors you should consider when evaluating your next step.

Identifying Career Objectives is Key

Ambition is one of the most valued attributes of our students. By signing up for a Rice Education program, you are demonstrating your commitment to personal and professional growth in more ways than one. Establishing your overall goals early on can help you make the most of your experience.

Are your instructional leadership skills in need of honing? Are you looking to improve your organizational leadership skills? What kind of campus leader do you want to become? Are you interested in eventually shifting to administration?

When getting started, answering these questions can be overwhelming, so having a team to provide guidance is crucial. The answers to these questions will lead you to the best match for you. Even more, having these conversations with our team will help establish clear expectations of program outcomes and personal goals. You will then work with our faculty to ensure your program experience is as rewarding as possible.

Quality Support is Invaluable

Classroom educators and administrators are all too familiar with being their students’ biggest cheerleaders. Having continual support is critical to creating learning environments that foster academic and personal development. The same holds true when pursuing your own development.

At Rice, our team has over 50 years of experience shepherding ambitious teachers and aspiring principals through our Alternative Teacher Certification, Master of Arts in Teaching and Principal Certification programs.

With one-on-one academic advising, practice-focused approaches, and firm beliefs in the importance of mentorship, you are in communication with one (or many) of our faculty members optimizing your opportunities for improvement. And our support doesn’t end upon successful completion of a certificate or degree program. We encourage our alumni to stay in touch, reach out for help when needed and continue striving for excellence. You may even get a check-in text every once in a while, or an invitation to present at one of our OpenRICE sessions.

Your Peers Matter

When pursuing a graduate or certificate program, your fellow learners have considerable influence on your experience. You learn from your classmates as much as you learn alongside them. Being a part of a community of like-minded peers with shared aspirations and commitments aids in the growth of each member. Our cohorts of students are built with this in mind. While our faculty often initiate classroom conversation, it is really the students that take those lessons to greater heights.

An Investment in Yourself

Time and money are two of the most important factors driving a prospective student’s final decision. Rather than looking at these factors independently, consider approaching this decision as an investment opportunity.

Will your return justify your costs?

Based on feedback from our students, we believe the answer to this question is ABSOLUTELY. You can expect to leave Rice programs with new career placements, district relationships and aspirations. Additionally, you join a Rice network of educators across the nation - a community of trusted and valuable additions to any school district.