In addition to increasing student learning and achievement, other goals of the PDS include increasing the number of well-prepared teacher candidates for the CCSD, increasing the incidence of gifted students and providing research-based professional development for teachers, administrators and university faculty. |
CCSD, UGA and OneAthens partner at Harris Elementary
Harris Elementary School, a new school in Clarke County scheduled to open in August 2009, will benefit from a partnership with UGA and OneAthens.
Anisa Sullivan Jimenez | Jun 24, 2009
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The Clarke County School District (CCSD), the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Education and OneAthens are partnering to improve student achievement by establishing Harris Elementary School as a Professional Development School (PDS).
The school, located on Danielsville Road, will open in August 2009 as a PDS, and hopes to transition into also being a charter school for the 2010-11 school year. The school will operate under the leadership of Principal Xernona Thomas.
A PDS is a collaboration between a school district, a university and often a third partner, such as the community group OneAthens. The goal of a PDS is to increase the learning and achievement of P-12 students through improved teacher preparation, expanded professional learning opportunities for teachers and collaborative research. PDSs also have the advantage of having additional adults in the classroom because of the significant numbers of university students doing field placements and student teaching at the school. In addition, the charter school model will provide additional flexibility and the opportunity to apply to the Georgia Department of Education for significant implementation funds to support collaboration and planning.
“The citizens of Athens, through the OneAthens process, asked our school district to come up with a ‘new model’ school – one that would find and implement new and innovative ways of teaching children, and that would build the basis for those children eventually graduating from high school at a much higher rate,” explained Red Petrovs, Chairman of OneAthens. “Through the hard work and unceasing efforts of the OneAthens Education Subcommittee, with tremendous assistance from its CCSD and UGA partners, we will be able to see this new model in a few short months.”
In determining to set up Harris Elementary as a PDS and future charter school, members of the subcommittee – made up of representatives from CCSD, UGA, OneAthens and the community-at-large – conducted several on-site visits to other programs and reviewed pertinent data. And those at Harris Elementary won’t be the only ones who benefit, as PDSs and charter schools are training grounds – meaning that successful strategies will be expanded district-wide.
“Using research-based educational best practices and employing a variety of strategies, we will work to augment to the process of teaching and learning to increase student achievement,” said Dr. Noris Price, Associate Superintendent for Instructional Services. “One example is that we will implement the Renzulli Schoolwide Enrichment Model – meaning that all students will be taught using gifted strategies.”
In addition to increasing student learning and achievement, other goals of the PDS include increasing the number of well-prepared teacher candidates for the CCSD, increasing the incidence of gifted students and providing research-based professional development for teachers, administrators and university faculty.
And since Harris Elementary’s zoned student population is 70 percent Hispanic, another innovation used will be a foreign language program that incorporates Spanish into the curriculum. Teachers will be trained how to make connections to Spanish language and culture in language arts classes, as well as other subject areas.
“PDSs provide universities the opportunity to offer exemplary programs of teacher preparation to their students and to be involved in joint programs of research rooted in problems of practice,” said Andy Horne, Dean of the College of Education. “We look forward to this partnership that will be based on collaborative inquiry and focus on the creation of a learning community for students and teachers at all levels of the educational process.”
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