Education Department

Discover the advantages of Carlow University’s Education Programs

Now more than ever, our nation’s schools need skilled and compassionate educators, curriculum specialists, and instructional leaders.

In Carlow University’s Education programs, you will gain specialized knowledge and hands-on teaching experience. Just as importantly, you will come away with a deeper understanding of how to care for the whole student as an empathetic instructor and mentor.

Carlow purposefully offers programs devoted to the unique needs of today’s diverse student populations. Program options include art education, early childhood development, special education, and secondary education.  Certificate options include dyslexia, online teaching, and autism. Learn firsthand from passionate faculty and recognized experts in the field.

New! Doctorate in Education

Reimagine the future of education

The Campus Lab School provides incredible practicum and field experiences for Education students.
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It takes one teacher or one principal to change the trajectory of a child’s life. Representation matters.

The Apprenticeship Program is a degree pathway for individuals working in childcare centers devoted to high quality early education.

Education students have the opportunity to join Future Educator’s Club, Best Buddies, or by-invitation, the international honor society in Education, Kappa Delta Pi. 

Our College in High School provides four Education classes during the school year and summer opportunities for those interested in teaching.

We offer special graduate level PD classes for $270.00, and we have a robust Speaker Series available for community organizations and schools. In addition, we offer a virtual Educator Workshop series accessible free of charge to the community. 

Faculty & staff

Our faculty and staff are devoted to nurturing and supporting current and future Scholar-Practitioners who are reflective in action, capable of creating and serving in High Performance Learning environments, and who support and respect the dignity and diversity of all learners.

Matthew E. Gordley, PhD Interim Provost & Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Keely Baronak, EdD Chair, Professor, Education

Tanya Baronti, MS, MEd Director of Clinical Placements

Ann Bisignani Graduate Program Coordinator

Debra Campbell Administrative Assistant

Sean Freeland Assistant Professor

Mimi Loughead SW Apprenticeship Workforce Coordinator

Marissa McClure-Sweeny, PhD Professor and Program Director, Early Childhood Education

Patricia L. McMahon, PhD Professor

Tammi McMillan Power of One Director & ECE College in High School Coordinator

Lillian Naccarati, EdD Executive Director

Valerie Piccini, MEd Program Director, MEd in Reading Specialist & Graduate Certificate in Dyslexia Teaching

Susan L. Polojac MEd Director, Dr. Rae Ann Hirsh Apprenticeship Program for Early Childhood Education

MiIsha Reid, PhD Program Director and Assistant Professor of Special Education

Pamela Zimmerman MEd Undergraduate Program Coordinator

Accreditation

Our Education programs are accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In addition, our Reading Specialist Program is accredited by the International Dyslexia Center.

View our student teaching handbook
View our education department handbook

Department of Education Points of Pride (2019-2023)

• In June 2023, Carlow University’s Education Department and Campus Laboratory School received a $85,000 grant from a private charitable foundation to continue the legacy of The Campus Lab School’s Founder, Sister Mary Paul Hickey. “The Sister Mary Paul Hickey Professional Educator Development Project,”encompasses an annual Sister Mary Paul Hickey Professional Development Educator Workshop Series; The Sister Mary Paul Hickey Symposium; The Sister Mary Paul Hickey Teacher Research Mini-Grants Project; and graduate scholarship awards to teachers from The Campus Lab School and schools in the Pittsburgh and Greensburg Dioceses. Sister Mary Paul Hickey was the founder of The Campus Laboratory School of Carlow University and served as Principal for more than 40 years. She left a legacy of service, innovation and a deep love for the students and teachers at The Campus Lab School. This grant honors her memory while building on her legacy of excellence in education and support of teacher development.

• In January 2023, Carlow University’s Department of Education was awarded two workforce diversity grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Education in the amount of $100,000 each. These grants established, “The Innovative Teacher Prep2Practice Program,” and “The Innovative Principal Prep2Practice Program,” for aspiring educators and principals and to support Pennsylvania’s workforce.

• In September 2022, Carlow’s Department of Education was awarded a $12 million sunsetting grant from a local, anonymous donor. “The Dr. Rae Ann Hirsh Apprenticeship Hub for Early Childhood Education,” was successfully endowed, following a two-year concept testing period that resulted in the receipt of the sunsetting grant. Carlow University is the first, four-year university in Pennsylvania to be designated by the Department of Labor as a four-year early childhood apprenticeship program and its work will continue in perpetuity as a result of this endowment gift.

• In May 2022, Carlow’s Department of Education was awarded an $808,025 grant from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Professional Development Organization (PASSHE PDO) in support of apprenticeship scholarships, student supports, and professional development opportunities.

• In December 2021, the Education Department was the recipient of a $109,122 grant from The Peirce Family Foundation in support of “The Peirce Dyslexia Program at Carlow University.” Funding encompasses a 4-week intensive summer structured literacy program, Camp Carlow and after school literacy workshops for children from The Campus Laboratory School and from the West Oakland/Hill District and greater Pittsburgh community.  The program also provides literacy tutoring support for Perry High School students (one of Pittsburgh Public Schools) conducted by graduate students of  Carlow’s four-course dyslexia track, which is embedded in the MEd Reading Specialist Program. 

• In July 2021, Carlow’s Department of Education was awarded an $80,150 grant from McAuley Ministries for the “Community Literacy Engagement Project (CLEP),” an individualized literacy support, four-week summer program for children from Campus Lab School and the West Oakland/Hill District communities. The grant also supports literacy tutoring in The Campus Lab School’s Dyslexia Center throughout the school year.

• In July 2021, Carlow University’s Education Department and Campus Laboratory School received a $93,500 grant from a private charitable foundation to establish, “The Sister Mary Paul Hickey Symposium and Teacher Leader Institute.”Components of the project include an annual professional development educator workshop series and symposium, teacher research mini-grants, and scholarship awards to teachers from The Campus Lab School and from schools in the Pittsburgh or Greensburg Diocese. 

• In June 2021, the Department of Education was the recipient of two separate $225,000 grants to fund the “Power of ONE,” a program aimed at providing teacher certification for educators of color. Funded generously by the McElhattan Foundation and The Grable Foundation, these grants benefit a strategic partnership between the University and partnering school districts. The grants allow Carlow to partner with school districts to diversify Pittsburgh’s teacher pipeline, allowing for a more seamless and supportive degree pathway for initial teacher certification for Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), having a tangible impact on increasing the number of educators of color in school districts where many students identify as Black and multi-racial.

• In May 2021, Carlow University was awarded $886,892 from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Professional Development Organization Grant (PASSHE PDO) through the Office of Child Development and Early Learning for scholarships and supports for childcare providers who are attending a college or are enrolled in university programs. Supports include textbooks, tutoring support, a full-time workforce coordinator, and an apprenticeship coaching website. Part of the grant will support Carlow’s early childhood apprenticeship program, which helps to improve childcare employee retention, reduce barriers for workforce entry, and increase diversity in teacher candidates.

• In February 2020, The Heinz Endowments awarded a $1 million grant and a $1 million endowment to support “The Dr. Rae Ann Hirsh Apprenticeship Hub for Early Childhood Education” to improve the quality of early childhood education in Pennsylvania.

• In September 2019, a local, anonymous foundation awarded two grants totaling $1 million to Carlow’s Department of Education to support a two-year concept testing period for the establishment of, “The Western Pennsylvania Early Childhood Apprenticeship Hub,” the first, four-year early childhood apprenticeship program in the state of Pennsylvania.