The location of Five Towns provides the unique opportunity for candidates to impact P-12 learning across Long Island in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The music education program partners with various school districts across the island which includes culturally rich, ethnically diverse, and economically disparate populations where candidates are able to observe, interact, and teach. These partnerships demonstrate our commitment to serve the education community as well as provide valuable experiences for our pre-service teachers. Candidates serve by providing 25 hours of service to educators in the Nassau Music Educators Association (NMEA) and Suffolk County Music Educators Association (SCMEA) in both their Sophomore and Junior Years at area events such as Workshops, Festivals, and All-County Concerts. In return, candidates receive the advantage of completing their State-mandated 100 hours of observation, teaching demo-lessons, and student teaching among these same master educators. It is difficult to measure the influence of our program completers on their students since there are at least 127 school districts and even more private schools on the island alone and completers are employed across both counties in public and private schools. Five Towns College is one of only two NASM accredited institutions of higher learning on Long Island. That makes Five Towns uniquely situated to offer music educators the opportunity to earn their Master’s Degree in Music Education without leaving the island.

In the 2018-19 Academic year all of our Music Education graduates passed the K-12 Performing Arts edTPA assessment demonstrating their readiness to enter the teaching field.

Employer satisfaction surveys were sent to the immediate supervisor of all employed program completers from 2014-2017. Employers were asked to rate graduates on nine factors using the following four-point scale: 1) well below teachers with similar experience, 2) somewhat below teachers with similar experience, 3) at about the same level as teachers with similar experience, and 4) exemplary compared to teachers with similar experience. Highlights from the employer survey responses include:

• 100% of employers found Five Towns College graduates to be “at the same level” or “exemplary” compared to teachers with similar experience in their ability to write effectively; in their oral communication skills; in their understanding of the concepts and subject matter being taught; in the variety of formative and summative assessments they used; and in their use of technology in instruction.
• A majority of all employers surveyed rated Five Towns College graduates as “exemplary” compared to teachers with similar experience in their oral communication skills; in their understanding of the concepts and subject matter being taught; in their ability to create learning experiences for students; in their ability to create and maintain a positive learning environment; in their use of technology in instruction; and in their ability to work with colleagues and parents.
• At least 80% of employers found Five Towns College graduates to be “at the same level” or “exemplary” compared to teachers with similar experience on all nine of the factors they were asked to rate.

The employer survey is currently being revised in order to generate more refined data that will aid in the continuous improvement of the Music Education Program. Once the new survey is administered and new data is available, it will be posted here.

Program completers from the years 2014-2017 were surveyed to gauge the satisfaction of recent graduates from the Music Education Program. Respondents were asked to rate a number of factors related to how well the program prepared them to become music educators. The following four-point scale was used: 1) not at all prepared, 2) somewhat prepared, 3) adequately prepared, and 4) very well prepared. One question, which asked recent graduates about the overall quality of their fieldwork experiences, was asked using a slightly different 4-point scale, ranging from 1) inadequate to 4) very good. Highlights from the survey responses of program completers include:

• 100% of program completers gave a positive assessment (“good” or “very good”) of their fieldwork experiences.
• The majority of program completers chose the highest rating of “very well prepared” when it came to their writing skills; their oral communication skills; critical analysis; research; concepts and structures in the social sciences; knowing various art forms; using learning standards as a teaching guide; their knowledge of methods and materials; their preparation for the diversity of students they teach; providing classroom management; communicating positively with parents; and working with colleagues to become part of the school community.
• At least 70% of program completers felt they were either “adequately prepared” or “very well prepared” on all factors related to the Music Education Program.

The program completers survey is currently being revised in order to generate more refined data that will aid in the continuous improvement of the Music Education Program. Once the new survey is administered and new data is available, it will be posted here.