Education Initiative

Launched originally in 2000 as Smith’s Urban Education Initiative, the Education Initiative exists to connect Smith to a critical movement in education and American society: the promise of education as the prime lever for social mobility, well-being and positive social change. Three core programs operationalize the Education Initiative’s vision and strategy: The Smith College Mindich Teaching Fellowship, Project Coach and Community-Engaged Scholarship & Research. The work of the Education Initiative is supported by Propel Capital & the Jandon Foundation.

About the Education Initiative

An affiliated program of the Jandon Center for Community Engagement, our programs provide opportunities for Smith students to transfer what they are learning in the classroom to real-world experiences alongside mentors—many of whom are Smith alumnae—across a range of educational settings. Our students apprentice in classrooms, schools, educational policy placements and community organizations.

We believe that profound learning and self-discovery comes when experiences are supported by mentoring, context-specific foundational knowledge, intellectual analysis, and cycles of individual and group reflection. Our programs structure opportunities for students to learn about themselves, work at innovative educational placements, engage with mentors, and connect with networks of educators to explore the complex and urgent problems in education at the individual, classroom and community level. At the center of this multidisciplinary process is engagement in systemic analyses of structural, cultural and political forces impacting education in the United States. These opportunities align with and connect to a variety of Smith programs, including the Community Engagement & Social Change Concentration, and programs in the Department of Education and Child Study, and, in particular, the youth, community and policy strand.

Community-Engaged Scholarship & Research

Community-engaged scholarship and research remains central to our mission. Our programs are also laboratories where Smith students and faculty test and discover what works in education and share what we learn in the world. In Project Coach, we wrestle with critical questions in youth development, particularly for children born into disadvantage. In the Education Initiative, we address the critical question of education equity across the widening socioeconomic schism in American society. Our students, youth coaches and staff regularly present at conferences and are engaged in state and federally funded research that delves into essential questions about equity, education and social justice.

The Smith College Mindich Fellowship

The Smith College Mindich Fellowship introduces students from Smith and other liberal arts colleges to the unique challenges of classroom teaching and its power to change the course of a child’s life. The program integrates best practices of university-based teacher education and school-based teaching practica during the one-month apprenticeship. Over the past 20 years, the program has advanced a diverse cohort of Smith students on pathways that have led to urban teaching and education-centered careers. Many aspects of the program are made possible through generous funding honoring the legacy of Dan Mindich, a high school English teacher and lifetime educator who loved teaching and learning. Smith students will be named Mindich Fellows—a title that honors Dan’s belief that students benefit the most when teachers work in communities where they learn together and support each other.

About the Fellowship

The Smith College Mindich Fellowship provides an opportunity to engage deeply in the practice and lived experience of teaching in schools. This immersive experience (separate cohorts during interterm and May–June) links current Smith students to a network of Smith alums and teacher-mentors working on the leading edge of school reform. Upon completion, you’ll join a unique community of nearly 1,000 Fellowship alums working in schools and other education-focused settings across the nation and around the world. Many aspects of the program are made possible through generous funding honoring the legacy of Dan Mindich, a high school English teacher and lifetime educator who loved teaching and learning. Smith students will be named Mindich Fellows—a title that honors Dan’s belief that students benefit the most when teachers work in communities where they learn together and support each other.

The January 2025 Mindich Fellowships dates are January 6–24, 2025. Two mandatory orientation sessions will take place in the fall semester.

The Mindich Fellowship occurs through participation in two Smith College classes: 1-credit practicum placement with one of our trusted school partners nationwide (may be repeated for credit) and a 3-credit seminar with Professor Sam Intrator (optional).

Interested? Next Steps:

Complete the Mindich Fellowship application by Tuesday, October 22 at 8:00 a.m. This is a competitive opportunity. No extensions will be offered.
Point of Contact: Laura Boban, Education Initiative Coordinator, lboban@smith.edu

Project Coach

We Coach for Change

Project Coach is a partnership between Smith College and Springfield Public Schools that provides a sports-based life skills program that teaches teens to coach and mentor youth within their community. Our teen coaches work side by side with Smith staff, Smith graduate and undergraduate students, and Springfield Public School educators to run a free out-of-school time program for elementary students in Springfield, closing the play gap for children as they build their own life and leadership skills. By applying the high-impact skills they use on the playing field in school and community, our coaches create powerful change in their own lives and communities.

Graduate fellows work as coaches and team leaders in Project Coach’s after-school program. For their participation in the program, fellows receive tuition waivers equal to the cost of their grad programs in either teaching or exercise and sport science. Learn more about the graduate fellowship.

Project Coach Graduate Fellowships

The Project Coach (PC) Graduate Fellowship in Teaching or Exercise & Sport Science is designed to prepare aspiring educators and coaches through firsthand experience in mentorship and sports-based youth development.

We believe that to be a good educator or coach one must understand the socioecosystem of a child’s life—the 20 percent of the time they spend in school as well as their crucial out-of-school experiences. Project Coach Fellows work in Smith College’s nationally recognized youth development program that provides free after-school recreation and academic support to children and teens in Springfield, Massachusetts. The fellowship is a singular opportunity for aspiring teachers to explore the critical factors that shape a child’s life.

PC Fellows work as mentors, coaches and team leaders in Project Coach’s afterschool program. Fellows receive academic-year tuition waivers equal to the cost of their grad programs. Fellows must pay for summer course tuition if their graduate program requires it.

MAT Fellows complete their MAT degree in one or two years and graduate with Massachusetts licensure. ESS Fellows complete their ESS degree in two years. Smith College graduate programs are open to all genders.

Fellowship Requirements

PC Fellows work toward their MAT degree or MS in exercise and sport studies by attending Smith College classes and working 6–8 hours per week as an assistant in Project Coach, which will link them with youth in Springfield, Massachusetts. Learn more about Smith’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program and Master of Science in Exercise & Sport Studies.

Basic Schedule (Subject to Change)

Project Coach Leadership Academy at Smith College on Monday evenings
Weekly fellowship meetings
After-school programming in Springfield, MA (1–2 days per week)
A few weekend programming days will be required throughout the year

Application Instructions

In order to be considered for the Project Coach Fellowship, applicants must be accepted by the Smith College graduate program of their choice, either the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or the Master of Exercise & Sport Science (ESS). Please visit the Smith College graduate program website for details on those programs and application instructions. Both the MAT and ESS programs have their own deadlines.

To apply for the PC Fellowship, you must complete the PC Fellowship Supplemental Application for submission to the graduate program office in addition to your graduate program application.

Deadlines & Expected Timeline for PC Fellowship Decisions

Application Opens: November 1
Priority deadline for applications: January 31
Interviews: February–March
Decisions expected by March 31
While our priority deadline for applications is January 31, we will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis until we make our final decisions and fill our cohort.

For questions about graduate program admissions, contact Ruth Morgan at rmorgan@smith.edu.

For questions about the Master of Arts in Teaching (i.e. coursework and schedule, requirements, student teaching), contact Lynn Dole at ldole@smith.edu.

For questions and contact info for the Master of Science in Exercise & Sport Studies program, visit the ESS webpage.

For questions specifically related to Project Coach, please contact Brittany Gaetano at bgaetano@smith.edu.

To learn more about Project Coach and how you can become involved, please contact Brittany Gaetano (bgaetano@smith.edu).