With the new school year quickly approaching, school teachers have been busy prepping their classrooms and creating lesson plans, including recent college graduates who secured spots in New York State’s Universal Pre-K (UPK) program. The Office of Career Preparation and Development at St. Joseph’s University, New York (SJNY) hosted on-site interviews in the spring for members of the Class of 2025 interested in becoming UPK teachers across Long Island school districts.
The St. Joseph’s University UPK program began in 2006 and since then has provided jobs to nearly 100 SJNY alumni annually. With most applicants graduating holding degree in child study, these opportunities have allowed St. Joseph’s alumni to gain valuable experience inside the classroom and launch their careers in education.
SJNY alumna Johanna Pellegrino ’11, ’13, M.A. Esq. currently works as a site supervisor for the UPK program in Plainedge, NY.
“Being in this program and receiving support I was able to grow my craft and learn what it took to be a classroom teacher,” Pellegrino said. “I find that St. Joseph’s students are incredibly prepared for the classroom, but UPK serves a great program for mentorship and guidance through the first years of their classroom experience. We want to see them success because they represent us both a part of the program as well as they move on.”
Universal Pre-K programs are funded by the state, and were originally created to provide medium-to-low-income families with access to early education to assist with socialization skills. As one of the premier universities for education on Long Island, St. Joseph’s University students have gone on to lead long and successful careers as full-time teachers and site supervisors in the program.
Pamela Renneisen, director of the University’s UPK program and senior adjunct lecturer, spoke on the importance of universal pre-k.
“The initial purpose of UPK was not only to give young learners a smart start and high-quality education where they’re learning through play and being exposed to language, conversation, problem solving, executive function and team building, but also give new teachers the chance to really unfold as educators,” she said.
