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By Michael Childs
mchilds@coe.uga.edu
In the first such collaboration in the state, the University of Georgia and the Clarke County School District have agreed to work together to improve student learning through the creation of partnership schools.
The new initiative is unique in its comprehensive approach to bringing together the university, local schools and the community for education renewal.
“We are dedicated to the well-being of our citizens, our communities and our state,” says Louis Castenell, dean of UGA’s College of Education. “Our children deserve the very best in education. They deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential. What we hope to do is provide an umbrella—a way to collect and focus our many resources and those of other agencies in a manner that the community can best use.”
The initiative also supports UGA’s new 10-year strategic plan, which includes a commitment to invest in the community to improve education. Spearheaded by the College of Education, the collaboration will also include involvement from UGA’s colleges of Family and Consumer Sciences, Arts and Sciences, and Business and the School of Social Work.
In addition, Athens-Clarke Mayor Doc Eldridge has pledged the support of local government.
“I’ve said many times that, at a city level, we do a lot of things that affect people’s lives—pass laws, levy taxes—but nothing we do is as important as what goes on in the schools,” says Eldridge.
Officials say the initial five-year partnership will lead to research-based processes and practices that can be adapted by other schools. The school district and UGA will work together to assess the specific needs of students in the district, pool resources and research the effectiveness of innovations on student learning.
Under the plan, university researchers across campus will provide their knowledge and expertise to help select and implement teaching practices that raise student achievement. UGA student teachers will spend more classroom time learning how to interact with parents as well as with students.
“The Clarke County School District is excited about the possibilities to tie research and best teaching practices into real-life opportunities for students,” says Clarke School Superintendent Lewis Holloway. “This broad-spectrum approach will allow many major initiatives to operate together with a focus on improving students’ learning. It’s a great opportunity for our staff and students to work hand-in-hand with researchers.”
Holloway stresses the importance of including families in the partnership process. “We want this to be a holistic process and consider the family component, too. There’s a huge need to help the parents in the school district as well as the students,” he says. “The schools [that participate in the initiative] are going to be mirrors of the families we serve.”
A 21-person design team is heading up the project. It includes three teachers, three principals, four district administrators, three community-service-agency leaders, two parents and six UGA faculty members. They will organize working committees that will involve other key stakeholders.
The design team will also investigate flexible use of resources at UGA and Clarke Schools, with the needs of students as its primary focus. Efforts will initially focus on elementary and middle schools.
Components of the design will include curriculum, assessment and technology. UGA students and faculty will work with Clarke schoolteachers and administrators to support such services as speech therapy, social work, music and art, guidance and counseling, and psychological services.
The design team will also explore different ways of establishing schools that serve as community-learning centers. Parents, teachers and staff will be involved in the design of partnership schools. The design team will develop a timetable for study and implementation.
Although the design team is just beginning its work, some ideas emerged in preliminary discussions. For example, the partnership school’s instructional time could be extended. Gov. Roy Barnes’s A-Plus Education Reform Act, adopted last year, includes a provision for a 20-day extension of the existing 180-day school calendar in Georgia, says Holloway.
The design team will also explore possible changes in school hours to better meet the needs of students and their families. Students needing extended time to learn and families seeking extended day and year opportunities for childcare would benefit from such a design. These programs will be at no cost to students. |
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