This year, the Billiken Teacher Corps is celebrating 10 years of forming and empowering the next generation of Catholic school teachers. Marking this decade also coincides with the Saint Louis University School of Education celebrating 100 years of educating educators. There is much to be grateful for!
Assistant Dean for Teacher Education Dr. Benton Brown recently remarked that the Billiken Teacher Corps represents the Billiken - the way things ought to be. When the founders of the program -- Fr. Chris Collins, S.J., Dr. John James, Dr. Karen Tichy, Christine Luebbert, Fr. Ronny O’Dwyer, S.J., Ed.D., and others from the Archdiocese -- laid the groundwork 10 years ago, they set a vision for the way things ought to be in Catholic education. We continue to build on that vision and recruit, train, and retain new teachers. To date, we have had over 50 teachers graduate from our program. Most of them remain teaching, a majority in Catholic schools. A couple have recently discerned religious life as their path. No matter where they are, we are proud of the impact our alumni have made and continue to make in schools across the St. Louis region, the country, and the world.
In the 2023-2024 school year, after a thorough process of discernment and strategic planning, the Billiken Teacher Corps decided to bring the Master of Arts in Teaching for Catholic Educators under its umbrella with a new name: MAT Magis. This update will better support teachers who enroll in this pathway by providing more teaching support, instructional coaching, and additional resources. In June, we welcomed seven new teachers into this cohort. This is our largest enrollment for this pathway to date. We anticipate more growth in this area as there has been increasing demand from both aspiring teachers and Catholic schools.
Our original model of the Billiken Teacher Corps, now called BTC Cura Community, continues to thrive and attract recent college graduates who are looking for a fully immersive service-learning experience. The name Cura Community was chosen as a nod to the Cura Personalis our teachers receive while in the BTC and the Cura Personalis they provide their own students in the classroom. Additionally, the name references Cura Apostolica, or “care for the mission work” as these teachers balance teaching full time (usually in Jesuit or underserved Catholic schools), earning their MAT degree, and living in the intentional faith community. The community that has been built and the positive energy shared between both the BTC Cura Community and MAT Magis cohorts has launched an exciting year in which to celebrate a decade of service, learning, and growth.
For more information, please visit https://www.slu.edu/education/institutes/billiken-teacher-corps.php
Assistant Dean for Teacher Education Dr. Benton Brown recently remarked that the Billiken Teacher Corps represents the Billiken - the way things ought to be. When the founders of the program -- Fr. Chris Collins, S.J., Dr. John James, Dr. Karen Tichy, Christine Luebbert, Fr. Ronny O’Dwyer, S.J., Ed.D., and others from the Archdiocese -- laid the groundwork 10 years ago, they set a vision for the way things ought to be in Catholic education. We continue to build on that vision and recruit, train, and retain new teachers. To date, we have had over 50 teachers graduate from our program. Most of them remain teaching, a majority in Catholic schools. A couple have recently discerned religious life as their path. No matter where they are, we are proud of the impact our alumni have made and continue to make in schools across the St. Louis region, the country, and the world.
In the 2023-2024 school year, after a thorough process of discernment and strategic planning, the Billiken Teacher Corps decided to bring the Master of Arts in Teaching for Catholic Educators under its umbrella with a new name: MAT Magis. This update will better support teachers who enroll in this pathway by providing more teaching support, instructional coaching, and additional resources. In June, we welcomed seven new teachers into this cohort. This is our largest enrollment for this pathway to date. We anticipate more growth in this area as there has been increasing demand from both aspiring teachers and Catholic schools.
Our original model of the Billiken Teacher Corps, now called BTC Cura Community, continues to thrive and attract recent college graduates who are looking for a fully immersive service-learning experience. The name Cura Community was chosen as a nod to the Cura Personalis our teachers receive while in the BTC and the Cura Personalis they provide their own students in the classroom. Additionally, the name references Cura Apostolica, or “care for the mission work” as these teachers balance teaching full time (usually in Jesuit or underserved Catholic schools), earning their MAT degree, and living in the intentional faith community. The community that has been built and the positive energy shared between both the BTC Cura Community and MAT Magis cohorts has launched an exciting year in which to celebrate a decade of service, learning, and growth.
For more information, please visit https://www.slu.edu/education/institutes/billiken-teacher-corps.php
