At this time, fellows are chosen from among the students admitted to the Ed School under the regular admission program by a special selection committee. They must be teachers in Boston or Cambridge to be eligible.

"What we'd like to see is real dedication to the field of education as well as good academic potential," says Carly Moreno, director of admissions at the Ed School and a member of the selection committee for the fellowships.

"We consider [the fellowships] collaborations," Blodgett says. "We are getting as much from them as they are from us."

Participants in the program agree that it's a trade-off and say they hope that they can contribute practical knowledge to class discussions by bringing their experience as practitioners into the classroom.

"It's important for urban teachers to be present to give a practical point of view and to give an urban perspective to the discussion. I hope I've been able to offer some perspective from an urban viewpoint. I think people appreciate that," Lovett says.

And practical knowledge is often not a big enough part of the teaching process, some fellows say. Stern suggests that one way universities could increase their involvement in urban schooling would be to hire teachers from nearby school systems to teach Ed School courses.

"There's a tremendous division between theory and practice," he says, adding that teachers do not have enough voice in education policy-making in Boston.

"I'm concerned with the whole progressive reform movement in education and giving teachers more say in what goes on opposed to the central office saying, 'Use this book,'" Stern says.