ERIC Number: EJ1221025
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jun
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
A Bridge between Teacher Education and School: Professional Development School District Sets Goals for an Entire District
Curcio, Rachelle; Ascetta, Kate
Learning Professional, v40 n3 p30-34 Jun 2019
University-school partnerships can be a powerful mechanism for educator professional learning, but they have varying degrees of success. In South Carolina's School District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties, superintendent Christina Melton wanted to make sure her district's partnership with the University of South Carolina would strategically and systematically attend to enhancing educational opportunities for all stakeholders within the district. Unlike traditional professional development school partnerships that create new collaborative school sites, this professional development school district focuses on long-term systematic improvement across the entire district. The emphasis is on enhancing the social, emotional, and physical well-being of students and staff. The school district's vision encapsulates three overarching goals. One of these goals, which is the focus of this article, emphasizes the well-being of preschool-aged children. Steering committee members agreed that a key component of this goal is the development, implementation, and monitoring of ongoing professional learning for all District 5 preschool teachers, teaching assistants, and staff. These professional learning experiences would be co-constructed and co-facilitated by District 5 leadership and University of South Carolina faculty. This would be the first time that general and special education teachers would engage in simultaneous professional development. Additionally, this would be the first time that lead and assistant early childhood teachers across the district would receive access to the same content. Developing this initiative would be a three-year process. This article discusses how a partnership was established, the design and implementation of the initiative, and future plans for the initiative.
Descriptors: Teacher Education, School Districts, Goal Orientation, Faculty Development, College School Cooperation, Partnerships in Education, Preschool Children, Early Childhood Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Child Welfare, Child Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A