BA in Elementary Education

Why pursue an elementary education degree at North Central College?

You’ll learn with top professors— people who demonstrate what exemplary teaching means every day. As an elementary education major you will have experience in classroom management, lesson planning, and teaching in all subject areas when you complete at least 180 hours of classroom field experience prior to your residency (student teaching). Our elementary education curriculum is formulated to teach you all about childhood development and give you the necessary practice to hone your teaching skills. This additional experience will boost your teaching and confidence and make you an ideal teacher candidate in this vast job market. It will help you become a world-class educator who inspires young elementary students to achieve their best.

You can also:

• Students who graduate from our elementary education program teach in various settings, from high-need schools in Chicago and Aurora to nationally recognized schools in and around Naperville.
• Connect with professional educators and administrators who enjoy mentoring the next generation of teachers.
• Study in an education department fully accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education and recognized as a model education program by local partner districts.
• Receive extensive practice and guidance to prepare for the rigorous Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA).
• Gain additional expertise in special education by adding the Learning Behavior Specialist (LBS I) endorsement.
• Learn more about our diverse graduate programs like our Trauma-Informed Educational Practices for Children and Adolescents Certification program.

Since 1861, North Central has been a place where new ideas lead to unlimited possibilities. We’re an independent college dedicated to the power of the liberal arts and sciences to transform students into leaders both in their careers and communities. Our nearly 3,000 students study across more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, with their education, made richer by supportive faculty and staff, world-class facilities, and countless opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

A College on the move

Building on the foundation of more than 150 years of excellence, North Central continues to grow with numerous new facilities, programs, and initiatives in the works.

The College opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, then North Central), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000 students).

Over the years, thousands of dedicated students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.

We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward-thinking.

Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. News & World Report counts us among “America’s Best Colleges,” one of the top six schools in the Midwest for a “strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Students choose from more than 55 undergraduate majors and five graduate program areas.

Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central is proud of its 32 team national championships and 123 individual national champions.

Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and staff of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our academic programs to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world, recently adding Middle Eastern and North African Studies, along with Arabic. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary Science Center located at the corner of Brainard Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It’s been an amazing 150+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!