Lemberg Children's Center

More than 100 undergraduate students work at the Lemberg Children's Center each semester. Though most are part of the Federal Work-Study program, many do unpaid internships.

An in-service teacher apprenticeship is a wonderful program for anyone interested in living or working with young children. Our program and curriculum are based on national standards for teacher education (NAECTE) and have led hundreds of participants.

Katharine Braun-Levine says, "Everything I need to know I learned at Lemberg... Children may inspire you to teach, but the right colleagues inspire you to learn."

Employment Opportunities

The Education Program at Brandeis offers two study options, Teacher Education and Education Studies.

Teacher Education

The Teacher Education minor at Brandeis prepares students to become classroom teachers at the preschool, elementary, middle or high school level. The Teacher Education minor is elected in conjunction with a compatible major. The elementary, middle and high school minors lead to the initial license to teach. Center for Early Childhood Teacher Development faculty serve as student teacher supervisors for the program.

• Any undergraduate at Brandeis can begin fulfilling requirements of the early childhood program at any time, without formal admission to the Education Program.
• Design your own course (ED 98a Individual Readings and Research in Education) just as many others have by creating a syllabus in early childhood education policy, administration, special education, inclusion, dance and movement, early intervention, literacy, science for preschoolers or other topic of your choice. Just create your syllabus with Howard Baker and then get approval from Marya Levenson, Professor of the Practice of Education.

Required Courses for Preschool Teacher Certification

For Lead Teacher Certification in Preschool (LT-PS) by Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care:

• ED 100a, Exploring Teaching- Elementary and Preschool (includes three hours per week lab observations in a local school) should be taken in the fall semester of either the sophomore or junior year (sophomore is recommended).
• PSYC 33a, Developmental Psychology (prerequisite: PSYC 1a).

• Two Electives (must be approved by program director)
  • ED 107a, Teaching and Learning Reading in Elementary and Preschools, a spring-semester course (sophomore or junior year) that includes two hours per week lab observations and some reading instruction (prerequisite: ED 100a).
  • PSYC 169B, Disorders of Childhood
  • ED103a, Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood (not currently offered)
  • ED175, The Teaching of English Language Learners: Pre-K to 12
  • ESL, English as a Second Language
• Student Teaching (one of the following choices made with the program director)
  • ED 112e (Practice Teaching: Preschool). This is an eight credit course which requires 420 hours in the classroom during either the Fall or Spring Semesters. Usually a student takes this in their senior year. Practice teaching at the Lemberg Children's Center is the usual placement. Prerequisites are:
    • PSYC 33a, Developmental Psychology, and
    • ED 100a Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood
• Work experience in a NAEYC approved program- 27 months experience prior to graduation, and 9 months after graduation. Student teaching is equal to 9 months of experience. 

Education Studies

In Education Studies (major or minor), students examine the impact of political, historical, cultural, psychological, economic, and social forces on education, a critical institution in our democracy, and they examine the role of education in shaping identities, life changes and society. 

The Center for Early Childhood Teacher Development staff includes a teaching fellow in each of our classrooms. This well-paid faculty position is for a recent college graduate seeking to develop teaching and supervisory skills while working in our model classrooms.

Each fellow is mentored by one or two head teachers and meets with the director of staff development regularly to ensure an outstanding mentorship program.

Established in 1998, the program has selected graduates of Vassar, Wheelock, Skidmore and Smith Colleges as well as Brandeis University.

To apply for this program send resume and two professional references to Howard Baker.

The Lemberg Children's Center welcomes researchers interested in child development and education.

Lemberg conducts three types of research:

For complete information on the program and how to apply, visit our Research page and download Lemberg’s Guidelines for Doing Research and Observation.