Applications are now being accepted for the 2013-15 Progressive Education Lab (PEL) program, a two-year fellowship program preparing new teachers to become powerful educators and agents of change in the profession.

Launched last year by The Cambridge School of Weston and three partner progressive schools, the program offers on-site, experience-based training not typically found at traditional university education programs. Teaching fellows begin the program with a four-day summer orientation, followed by a 10-month rotation among the four schools for hands-on experience with teacher mentors. For the second year, each student is offered a paid internship at one of the four participating schools.

Funded in part by a $250,000 leadership grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, the multi-site program takes place at the four founding schools: The Cambridge School of Weston, Weston, MA; The Calhoun School in New York City; The Putney School in Putney, VT; and The Unquowa School in Fairfield, CT.

The current and inaugural cohort of PEL fellows (PELlows) includes two CSW alumni, Aspen Golann ’05 and Sam Egilman ’07, and is in the second quad of the first year of the program. They recently completed a six-week stay at CSW and are now observing classes and working with teacher mentors at The Unquowa School.

PEL joins a national movement to pull teacher training into elementary, middle and secondary schools, where fellows have access to master teachers and in-class training. Currently, a majority of traditional teacher training takes place at colleges and universities—away from the classrooms and the environments where the teachers will actually teach; school leaders often find that this kind of training creates a disconnect between theory and practice.

Inquiries and applications are now being accepted for PEL’s second cohort, which begins in the fall of 2013. Please visit the PEL website for more information about the program. You can also read PELlow blogs about the first-year experience and follow PEL on Facebook and Twitter.

To apply for the PEL program, click here.