LEAP to Teacher

Welcome to the Murphy Institute for Worker Education’s LEAP to Teacher program (LTT) at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The LTT program helps paraprofessionals and teachers make informed decisions about their further education and career goals.  As you consider enrolling in a graduate or undergraduate program in Education or other fields of study, the LTT program can assist you from the pre-admission stage until graduation at our partnering City University of New York (CUNY) colleges.

The Murphy Institute’s LEAP to Teacher program enables United Federation of Teachers (UFT) members working for the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to pursue their education and advance their career in teaching or in any other areas. This program is a collaboration with the UFT, the Murphy Institute for Worker Education at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, and four participating City University of New York (CUNY) colleges: Brooklyn College, College of Staten Island, Lehman College and Queens College.

LTT was created to meet the needs of UFT para-educators attending Queens College to pursue a degree in the mid-nineties, under the umbrella of the Queens College Worker Education Labor Education and Advancement Project (LEAP) that was established in1984 to meet the needs of union members to create a space within CUNY, where labor would have a voice and space that address labor’s issues from an academic perspective and to prepare future labor leaders. The program provides a student friendly environment that meets the needs of adult learners as evening students and union member. In 2006 The Queens College Worker Education program had a transition to a new status as the Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies with a mandate to serve union members throughout CUNY. In 2018 the Murphy Institute Center for Worker Education for Labor and Urban studies changed status again to the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.

Throughout all transitions, the LTT program has remained true to its original mandate and has been a vital component of our school’s growth. There are four LTT programs in CUNY colleges. Our collaborating senior colleges are:

• Brooklyn College
• College of Staten Island
• Lehman College
• Queens College

Except for Queens College, LTT is housed at the college’s schools of education. There is a LTT Coordinator at each campus that will assist you with your educational needs at the graduate or undergraduate level.  We are committed to help you and provide services needed to achieve your academic goals.

Here are some of the services we provide our LTT students:

• Tutoring services in writing and math
• Free preparation for the CUNY entrance exam
• Pre-admission and Admission advisement
• Academic advisement from admission to graduation
• Embedded tutoring for students in our selected graduate and undergraduate programs
• Adult-Focused undergraduate admissions criteria
• Non credit courses designed to enhance students skill set
• Free preparation for the NYS Teacher Certification Exam
• Information about NYS Learning Standards and requirements for Teacher Certification
• Information about the programs available at the participating LTT colleges
• Strong support systems that understands your reality as a student, worker, family and community member
• Advocacy

In Fall 2017, 517 students were actively enrolled in the LEAP to Teacher program to benefit from the guidance of our talented and experienced advisors / site coordinators and academic support services.

For more information, please attend one of our monthly open house events (button on the left) or contact one of our site-coordinators to schedule an appointment at the college of your choice.