6 must-knows about Mount Holyoke and its MAT in English Language Learners program

1. Our education programs are approved with distinction by the state of Massachusetts.

Mount Holyoke College is one of two colleges in Massachusetts to have its teacher education programs granted approval with distinction by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The department says Mount Holyoke’s teacher education programs are “operating at such a high level they can serve as a model for other providers in the state and nation.” This was based on multiple factors, including our:

• New, innovative approaches to educator preparation.
• Intentional partnerships with pre-K-12 schools/districts.
• A commitment to diversifying the educator workforce.

2. Our faculty is made up of experts actively working in the field, which means they deeply and authentically understand the nuances of teaching in today’s schools.

Meet some of your future professors, advisors and mentors:

• Alicia Lopez: ELL/ESL faculty member
  • Alicia’s 23 years in the classroom span two states and three subjects (French, Spanish, ESL).
  • She is passionate about teaching through a social justice lens, family engagement, and advocating for English language learners, as well as teaching them self-advocacy skills.
  • Area of specialty: sociocultural context of schooling and current research in the field of ELL teaching and learning.
• Erin Casioppo, differentiated instruction and diverse learners faculty
  • Erin is a special education teacher in Amherst, Massachusetts.
  • She is an experienced classroom teacher, reading instructor, ELL teacher and teacher of the deaf.
  • Area of specialty: supporting students in inclusive settings, the neuroscience of learning, and the integration of art, language and academic learning.
• Holly Graham, ELL/ESL Faculty member
  • Holly has classroom experience as a middle school English and history teacher.
  • She is a national speaker on language and applied linguistics.
  • Area of specialty: the relationship between language and its functions in social settings, the importance of language and linguistic choice within the curriculum and how we think about and discuss language.

Meet our graduate faculty

3. Our MAT English Language Learner program means living and advancing our values of diversity, equity and inclusion.

• We are committed to helping public schools diversify the professional teaching staff in their school systems.

  • “This program benefits the paraeducators as well as the district. Mount Holyoke gives them an education of excellence and the tools to become good teachers. It’s a win-win situation.” – Damany Gordon, diversity and equity specialist at Amherst public schools

  • “The goal is to diversify the teacher workforce in order to more accurately reflect the student body and the community as a whole. This is important work.” – Ruth Hornsby, assistant director

• Thanks to Mount Holyoke’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, there are ample educational opportunities and programs provided by the College that focus on a wide range of identities through the lens of social justice education, ally development, and identity development.

4. Mount Holyoke graduate programs are inclusive and diverse.

5. Hands-on, personalized support and connection is a distinct and long-standing part of Mount Holyoke’s culture. From admissions to career launch and beyond, being part of Mount Holyoke is a life-long experience.

6. As a Mount Holyoke student, you join the legacy of an elite college with a revered history of preparing educators and changemakers dating back to 1837. Your life-long status as a Mount Holyoke alum comes with strength in numbers and community.

When Mount Holyoke College was started in 1837, one of the goals was to prepare educators to go out and engage with the world. Today we have a tight knit community of nearly 40,000 Mount Holyoke College alums, 25% of whom are in education as teachers, coaches, leaders and policymakers. It is a community with strong traditions that tie together generations of alums.

Listen to our students talk about the community at Mount Holyoke.