• Field experiences for tutoring and observing students in P-12 classrooms. Hours vary depending on the course with which the experiences are associated, but range from 10-30 hours during a semester.


• Field block experiences for Childhood Education, Physical Education, and Adolescence Education where students spend at least two days/week in P-12 classrooms assisting cooperating teachers by teaching lessons, working with individual students or small groups, observing, or tutoring. Childhood Education and Physical Education have two field block experiences, while Adolescence Education has one.


• Student teaching where students in Childhood Education, Physical Education spend two 7-week sessions in P-12 classrooms as the teacher of record, supervised by a cooperating teacher and University supervisor.


• Bona's Education Association: Internal SOE student club for undergraduate students to assist the community through service projects.


• Kappa Delta Phi Honors Society: An honors society for undergraduate and graduate students who achieve a GPA above 3.0.


• Every spring with a few exceptions, two faculty members take a group of students to St. Michael’s School outside of Albuquerque, N.M., to teach and provide support to the Native American community, which is impoverished and has very limited resources. The students engage in teaching experiences, while also learning about the plight of marginalized populations.


• Undergraduate students may be invited to join the Honors Program. Invited students take honors courses and also complete a research project, which becomes a culminating capstone project for them. This allows them to focus on an area of interest and to work with faculty as they develop their research skills.

• Practica and internships or student teaching for Counseling, Educational Leadership, Inclusive Special Education, and Literacy. Counseling requires two semester-long practicum experiences and two semester-long internships within P-12  for school counseling or mental health agencies.
  • Educational Leadership has a 600-hour practicum and a 200 hour internship for the School Building Leader certification. For School District Leader, there is a 90-hour practicum and a 90-hour internship in P-12 settings within school buildings (for SBL) or central office (for SDL).
  • For Inclusive Special Education, candidates need to complete a semester-long teaching experience in a special education classroom and do a poster presentation about research they have conducted.
  • Literacy candidates spend several hours a week in a P-12 setting to assist individual students or groups with reading and literacy throughout their year-long program. In addition, they participate in a Reading Clinic with children and youth during their final semester (approx. 50 hours) where they provide assessment and follow-up tutoring support to students.
  • Adolescent Education has a 100-hour Embedded Clinical Experience for candidates who assist cooperating teachers in the schools with tutoring, observing, individual and small group work, and some teaching. In addition, they complete two 7-week sessions in grades 7-9 and 10-12 for a semester as the teacher of record with supervision by a cooperating teacher and University supervisor.


• Chi Sigma Iota is an honors society for Counseling candidates. It provides activities, such as professional development training for candidates and may be involved in other service activities related to the profession.

An 18-hour minor in leadership, open to all degree-seeking students regardless of their majors, offers a curriculum that spans academic schools at the university.

The program prepares students, through mentorship, personal development and internship opportunities, to serve effectively in formal and informal leadership roles on campus and in their lifelong pursuits.

• The School of Education and all of our programs are nationally accredited.
• You will accumulate up to 1,000 hours of classroom experience, beginning your freshman year, with placements in variance schools, grade levels, and different types of classrooms.
• We help ensure your success by holding you to high expectations and standards; a 3.0 GPA is required throughout your four years of study.
• You are part of a close community created through mentoring and close interactions between faculty, staff and students.

Students are prepared for the teaching profession in a way that is reflective of Franciscan service to others, an ideal that is central to the mission of St. Bonaventure University.

We believe that every child has unique gifts and needs, and we pride ourselves on preparing our students to meet the learning and developmental needs of all children. By the end of your four-year degree program, you will be ready for your own classroom where you will be able to construct learning opportunities supportive of the intellectual, social, emotional and physical needs of a diverse student population.

Within a curriculum focusing on developmental learning theories, pedagogy, principles of classroom management, and sound educational research, SBU education majors are encouraged to be active participants as they learn and develop as teachers.

Our graduates work in school districts all over the country, and our certification office will advise you on obtaining certificates in other states.

Our students become great teachers because:

• They believe that all children can learn
• They are able to create positive, engaging learning environments that help students succeed
• They become active members of school communities
• They understand the need to continue to learn
• They are passionate about teaching

The St. Bonaventure University School of Education prepares highly qualified, effective educators at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The Franciscan commitment to social justice through respect for diversity and the dignity and worth of the individual provides the foundation for our work with university students and school communities.

Our state and nationally accredited programs integrate theory with practice and meet rigorous academic and professional standards. Our collaborative and highly qualified faculty members guide candidates on their journey of professional and personal discovery.

The conceptual framework for the School of Education at St. Bonaventure University is organized around three themes:

• Competence
• Experience
• Social Justice

The School of Education at St. Bonaventure University is required to publish state teacher certification examination pass rates on an annual basis. 

To view pass rates for 2018-2019, 2017-2018, 2016-2017 and 2015-2016, download our certification exams pass rates PDF.

Prior to joining UMass-Boston, Buenaventura worked for six years as a faculty member for the Office of the Chancellor and School of Behavioral Sciences and Education at Penn State-Harrisburg, focusing on teaching, assessment, accreditation, research and grants, and program development. She had previously served for two years as the director for Child Welfare and Education and for the Labor Education Institute with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Educational Resources Group.

Buenaventura also worked for several years in the Pacific Northwest, including seven years at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash., first as director of Women’s Programs, then as director and interim associate dean of Student Support Services and interim vice president for Student Services.During this period, she also served as an adjunct faculty member at Clark College and Pacific Oaks College in Seattle.

In addition, Buenaventura has 10 years’ experience in K-12 education, seven years as a school psychologist and counselor in Belfair and Seattle, Wash., and three years as a program administrator for the Department of Transitional Bilingual Education and Compensatory Education in the Seattle Public Schools.

Buenaventura received her bachelor’s degree in psychology (1978) and her master’s degree in educational psychology (1983) from the University of Washington. She received her doctorate in educational leadership (1997) from Seattle University. At both institutions, she served as a graduate student assistant, working with the faculty on accreditation, curriculum and instruction, and research.

A deep commitment to community service and professional involvement are reflected in Buenaventura’s background. Over the years, she has been actively engaged in working with non-profit and governmental organizations, K-12 school districts, and higher education associations, as well as campus communities, to address issues of access, equity, diversity, and social justice.

Her focus has been on strengthening curricular and co-curricular learning experiences for students that effectively prepare them to live and work in diverse and rapidly changing environments.