Here we do more than prepare teachers. We shape accomplished educators. Our primary aim is to develop highly effective and ethical educational leaders and change agents who share our convictions about, as well as our commitment to, bringing about social justice by improving education for all children, especially those who suffer most from an inadequate system.

Our commitment to education and social justice stems from a 450-year-old Jesuit tradition that values academic excellence, integrity, service, community, and discernment. We aim to educate whole persons, in intellect, consciousness, and spirit so that they leave here with the knowledge, compassion, and moral compass to lead the way for others. Our mission is to prepare educators who can bring about fundamental change for a student, a school, or a system.

The direction of preparing effective educators to meet the challenges of today’s schools that was begun under Founding Dean Peter C. Murrell, Jr., Ph.D., continues under the leadership of Interim Dean L. Mickey Fenzel, Ph.D. A product of Baltimore’s parochial schools and a former public and independent school teacher, Dr. Fenzel has served as chair of the teacher education department and associate dean of the School of Education at Loyola. His research on effective middle school education features the award-winning book, Improving Urban Middle Schools: Lessons from the Nativity Schools, and numerous articles and papers.

Loyola offers a cohort program that affords area public and parochial schools and school districts an opportunity to give their teachers and other educational professionals an efficient and cost-effective route to graduate degrees and professional development, following curricula customized for the school systems’ specific needs.

Loyola also fosters relationships with Professional Development Schools (PDS), which are collaborative arrangements with local public and non-public schools. Students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels who wish to teach in elementary or secondary schools are required to complete a school-based internship in a PDS. These partnerships provide opportunities for students to receive mentoring from experienced teachers and supervision from Loyola faculty.

Loyola's programs in elementary and secondary education are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and approved by the Maryland State Department of Education. Graduates automatically meet academic requirements for certification in Maryland and in other states with reciprocity agreements. The Teacher Preparation Improvement Plan (TPIP), submitted annually to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), outlines our commitment to the preparation of future teachers, and documents the close connection between Loyola’s School of Education and Professional Development Schools in the state of Maryland.