District Partnership Research Articles

R.A.I.C.E.S. (Roots): A conceptual framework for community‐building that connects linguistic and cultural wealth to support emergent bilinguals

AbstractProject R.A.I.C.E.S. (Reaching All Individuals and Communities to Establish Success in Language Learning) is a National Professional Development grant initiative operating at Stephen F. Austin State University. Grant objectives were designed to enhance school readiness, English acquisition, and literacy outcomes for emergent bilinguals (EBs), English learners (ELs), and multilingual learners (MLLs) through collaborative professional development events involving university, community, parent, and school district partnerships. The Spanish word raíces translates to roots in English, symbolizing the project's commitment to preserving and nurturing the cultural and linguistic diversity of the community by reframing language learning within an additive paradigm. Project R.A.I.C.E.S. creates paid professional development events to build a community of professors, preservice teachers, in‐service teachers, parents and caregivers of emergent bilingual children, and children in collaborative professional development sessions called academias (academies). Each academia positions all participants, especially parents and caregivers and their children, as key stakeholders and equal partners in the learning process to honor the community's cultural wealth, emphasizing linguistic and cultural sustainability for English language learners in educational settings. Moreover, the academias provide preservice and in‐service teacher professional development and preparation for the TExES ESL certification exam, crucial for better meeting the needs of EBs/ELs/MLLs in rural schools.

Preparing Inclusive Early Childhood Educators (PIECE): A conceptualization of multilingualism, English learning, and inclusivity

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to share the examination of inclusivity as a paradigm for fostering authenticity and agency (Moore, 2017) among teacher candidates. This framing challenges the notion of inclusion as a tool of meritocracy used to manage learners through expectations that uphold monolingualism, decenter racial histories, and rely on rigid behavior plans. In this work, the authors interrogate the impact inclusion as assimilation has on English learners' authentic ways of knowing and being. Thus, they present a conceptualization of spaces of difference (Agbenyaga & Klibthong, 2012) within the context of an Inclusive Early Childhood Teacher Education (IECTE) program and the objectives of the Preparing Inclusive Early Childhood Educators (PIECE) project. With its rigorous coursework, clinical experiences, multi‐tiered mentorship, and practice‐based professional development, the PIECE project aims to develop inclusive early childhood educators at the preservice and in‐service levels. Infused throughout the PIECE project is an emphasis on cultivating the knowledge and skills needed to provide high‐quality instruction that improves educational outcomes for English learners (ELs). Frameworks of transformative theory and intersectionality perspectives provided the authors with a grounding for the work within the PIECE project community of learners (i.e., teacher candidates, teacher educators, and school district partners). This article summarizes critical concepts of inclusivity centered in the PIECE project work. These concepts include (1) understanding oneself to look beyond; (2) disrupting notions of normalcy and naturalized language; and (3) reconceptualizing inclusivity as a social justice act.

A University-School District Partnership to Develop Well Connected©: An Integrated Student Wellness Approach in High Schools

A University-School District Partnership to Develop Well Connected©: An Integrated Student Wellness Approach in High Schools

Systemic Success in Physical Education: A PLC Before Its Time

Drawing from a variety of conceptual and theoretical frameworks, this article provides a summary of decades of research into a university–district partnership that in multiple ways could be considered a systemic success. It describes the practices and processes of how two sectors of the broader physical education system (i.e., in-school physical education and teacher education) have complemented each other in the pursuit of the ongoing workforce development of physical education professionals. Physical education professionals belonging to the participating school district and teacher preparation program have sustained a working partnership based on sound professional learning community (PLC) principles (e.g., ongoing professional development, collaborative teaming, common vision, mission, and language, strong support from the central office) long before PLCs became fixtures in districts and schools. Indeed, this partnership could, in many respects, be described as a PLC before its time. This article highlights the partnership’s early days and several features that have supported its success and longevity. It also offers supporting evidence from the perspectives of the students, parents, and teachers who have been associated with this partnership.

Reviewing School District and Caregiver Engagement: Toward Building Capacity to Serve English Learners

Abstract
 The authors conducted a comprehensive literature review of school district partnerships with caregivers of ELs to inform this project design. This literature review addresses the following research question: What are the needs of caregivers of ELs in K-12 schools, and how are school partnerships supporting these caregivers? This literature review will address these gaps and overcoming EL caregiver underrepresentation by discussing seven focused and three theoretical codes drawn from a comprehensive review of 21 articles.
 Keywords: English Learner, caregiver, school districts, partnerships

Lessons Learned from a University-School District Partnership to Improve Autism Care in Public Schools

ABSTRACT In 2008 a community-academic partnership was formed between the School District of Philadelphia and our university-based team, Philadelphia Autism Instructional Methods Support. Through this partnership, we conducted a large-scale randomized trial of autism interventions in public schools, which indicated concerns related to implementation fidelity despite high-quality consultation to an evidence-based curriculum. Since the conclusion of the initial study, we have sustained this partnership to continue providing access to evidence-based care for autistic students. In this paper, we describe our iterative process of adapting consultation for autism support teachers, present findings regarding the impact of these services on teacher implementation fidelity, and map elements of our model onto well-established sustainment strategies for implementing change. In sharing this model, we hope to provide a blueprint for organizations conducting similar work and for those interested in empirically testing or applying strategies for sustainment of EBPs in school settings.

Exploring Whether and How Teacher Residencies Offer a Different Kind of Preparation

The past two decades have seen the rise of the residency model, another nontraditional pathway to certification that offers an intensive, practice-based, context-specific preparation designed to address shortages in hard-to-staff districts. Although advocates call the model innovative, research examining residencies at scale warrants skepticism around whether they truly offer a distinctive preparation. Surveying all programs across Tennessee about their adoption of features that characterize the model, we find that residencies offer a unique pathway to teaching in some expected ways though not all. Specifically, residencies reported longer clinical placements, more financial support for residents, and higher rates of mentor training, though they mostly did not report unique practices of candidate recruitment, district partnership, mentor selection, or curricular design. Moreover, we see that the distinctiveness of the model is in decline, with evidence of its dilution among newer residencies and the spread of its features among traditional programs.

Preparation for implementation of evidence-based practices in urban schools: A shared process with implementing partners.

Shifting organizational priorities can negatively affect the sustainment of innovations in community settings. Shifting priorities can present barriers to conducting clinical research in schools if a misalignment occurs between school district priorities and the aims of the study. Often this misalignment occurs due to a shift during the period between when the study is submitted for funding and when research activities begin. Participatory research approaches can be employed to restore alignment between study processes and school district priorities. The purpose of the study is to describe data from a shared process with district partners. The shared process resulted in modifications to the main study's implementation processes and strategies in order to restore alignment with evolving school priorities while remaining faithful to the aims of the study. Data originated from qualitative interviews conducted with 20 school district and school personnel in a large urban school district. Qualitative themes were organized into categories based on a social-ecological school implementation framework. Data from team meetings, meetings with school district administrators, and emails served to supplement and verify findings from interview analyses. Themes included barriers and facilitators at the macro-, school-, individual-, team-, and implementation quality levels. Adaptations were made to address barriers and facilitators and restore alignment with school district priorities. Most adaptations to study processes and implementation strategies focused on re-training and providing more information to school district coaches and school-based staff. New procedures were created, and resources were re-allocated for the larger study. Findings were discussed in relation to the implementation literature in schools. Recommendations for sustaining strong collaboration among researchers and school partners are provided.

Creating personalized partnerships across diverse districts

PurposeThis work aligns with two of the following NAPDS Essentials: Clinical Preparation and Learning and Leading. The authors collaborated with district partners to determine how to best meet their needs. Additionally, our institution continues to develop a reciprocal relationship; pre-service teachers can hone skills during the clinical field experience, and the university will better support the professional development initiatives of districts with whom we partner. Clinical field assignments are designed with intentionality to align with the needs of our districts. Consequently, pre-service teachers will be better equipped to immerse themselves in the field experiences and effectively address the diverse needs of students. The authors will continue to engage our preservice and in-service teachers and personalize supports.Design/methodology/approachA needs assessment was conducted to determine the most appropriate supports for our district partners. A survey was disseminated, and individuals ranked their area for support. The authors followed up with in-service teachers and district leaders to discuss specific strategies that could strengthen academic achievement and social emotional development. Additionally, the data were used to determine how to better equip teacher candidates to serve in the partner districts.FindingsTwo programs that have been highly successful have been the Teacher Assistant to Teaching Professional program which is a specialized grow your own and bringing high school students to campus that are interested in becoming educators their junior year, lastly, the use of Mixed Reality Simulations to strengthen educator preparation. Creating diverse partnerships is not a one-size-fits-all approach in every district. Needs assessment and ongoing conversations are needed to ensure both the district and the Educator Preparation Program are able to support pre-service and in-service teachers along with the needs of PreK–12 students.Originality/valueThis paper highlights diverse approaches to strengthening partnerships and the teacher pipeline.

Leadership preparation in progress: evidence from a district-university partnership

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the experiences of a closed cohort of aspiring leaders and connects the university and school district partnership relationship to building the leadership capacity of the cohort. This study builds on previous literature in district-university partnerships and leadership preparation. Powerful learning experiences (PLEs) and interpersonal-intrapersonal leadership development models serve as frames to examine how aspects of successful leadership preparation programs were present.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study was conducted with a team of researchers from the university and school district and relies on data from semi-structured interviews with students from the closed cohort.FindingsResearchers identified three major themes of aspiring leaders' preparation experience: confidence building, reflection and mindset change.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the emerging literature on PLEs by illustrating how this type of partnership creates opportunities for powerful learning experiences for aspiring school leaders.

Preparing to coach preservice teachers: professional learning of novice coaches

ABSTRACT Traditionally, teacher candidate supervision models focus on evaluation rather than collaborative professional reflection. Through a university–district partnership, a new model was designed to disrupt this dynamic and draw on the expertise of practicing teachers to act as coaches. This case study describes the professional learning of novice coaches as they engaged in activities such as video/transcript analysis and mixed-reality simulation to develop coaching skills throughout a year-long series of professional development (PD). Participants’ perspectives were examined to understand what PD experiences were meaningful and how novice coaches began to understand themselves as coaches. Findings suggest the importance of intentionally building in time for reflection on coaching artifacts such as transcripts and videos, collaboration with other novice coaches to address common coaching concerns, and highlighting the successes in their developing coaching practices to support educators who are new to the coaching role.

Using virtual teacher PD to support implementation of a historical literacy curriculum

PurposeThis study aims to explore how teachers in a large, diverse district could use a complex adolescent literacy curriculum, and it coincided with the start of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, also a time of great upheaval for this nation. The authors and district partners collaboratively designed document sets that could help students explore socially complex historical topics with discipline-specific reading and writing support. These challenges led to fully virtual PD and redesigned cognitive tools and lesson materials that could be used in a fully distanced learning environment.Design/methodology/approachPD and data collection were ongoing and iterative, as the authors' goals were to understand variability in teachers' understanding and how the social unrest in the nation and the need for distance learning would influence their application of our curriculum. Data sources included teacher artifacts, interviews and implementation surveys and anonymized student work samples. The third author wrote memos during webinars and district meetings. The authors employed a grounded theory approach to analyze teachers’ evolving understandings of how to teach students to make judgments, their lesson differentiation and their attention to social justice issues.FindingsTeachers who attended the authors' online PD increased their knowledge of the authors' cognitive apprenticeship (CA) approach to instruction, demonstrating more sophisticated understandings of important historical thinking skills and the need to provide students with explicit instruction and appropriate cognitive scaffolds. By the end of the year, teachers also showed ease in using new technological platforms and a more flexible use of disciplinary thinking scaffolds in ways the authors hoped. Finally, teachers in the authors' sample (and their students) frequently made connections between topics and sources in the authors' curriculum and ongoing societal problems (such as systemic racism) in this nation.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' original sample of teachers was over 70; however, this number eventually fell to nine teachers (about 12.5% of the eligible participants) due to many ongoing challenges (e.g. teaching while parenting) during this time period. The authors note that teachers who remained engaged with the authors had over 10 years of experience and all but one had at some point been in a leadership position such as a team lead or department head. It is possible that experience teachers found on the authors' curriculum intervention to be too challenging to implement during the pandemic.Practical implicationsOnline PD can be successful when sessions focus on content that teachers will use with students. We provided video models showing teachers how to teach historical reading and writing using the authors' tools and supports authors' platform. Although brief, the authors gave teachers opportunities for collaborative practice during webinars, and time to share challenges related to virtual teaching. In return, teachers shared what was working for them and allowed the authors to use anonymized student materials as the basis for subsequent materials for teaching students to make historical judgments.Social implicationsAll students, including those with learning or attentional disabilities/difficulties, emergent bilingual students, underrepresented students or marginalized students, must learn to grapple with complex historical and political information. Doing so will support their ability to make sense of conflicting and/or politicized information that pervades the media today and to judge for themselves what counts as evidence and truth.Originality/valueAlthough there are a small number of teachers, this study shows that a strong research partnership between a university and district office can support the successful implementation of a complex historical literacy curriculum that allows students to explore social justice issues while learning important disciplinary literacy skills. Future work will share student learning outcomes.

Inservice teachers’ experiences within a university/school district teacher education partnership: Collaborative inquiry, generative tensions, and emergent praxis

We sought to understand the experiences of inservice teachers in teacher education/school district partnerships. Classroom teachers collaborated with teacher candidates to explore literacy practices in situ. We employed case study methodology collecting data through interviews and field notes. Teachers described: how a supportive community helped them take risks in their practice; (re)conceptualizing their practice through in situ co-planning, co-teaching, and co-reflecting; growing in their confidence as mentors and learners; witnessing equity-oriented pedagogy in action; and navigating tensions which offered opportunities for professional growth. This study highlights the potential of such initiatives for teachers’ professional learning, practice change, and praxis.

202 Partnered rapid research with K-12 school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, translational scientists sought to provide scientific and data expertise to school districts serving diverse and disadvantaged students to enable equitable access to in-person learning. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We showcase two CTSA examples. One is a partnership with the second largest U.S. school district; the second is a national network of scientists and urban and rural school districts. In each example, CTSAs assembled expert science teams to support data-driven decision-making. The teams provided honest brokering of COVID-19 science, scientific interpretation that is sensitive to local context, and responses to community-driven questions. The teams collaborated with school district partners to design actionable data displays on key metrics including primary COVID-19 cases, school-acquired cases, quarantines, and missed school. The national ABC Science Collaborative) provided a platform for shared learning and reproducibility and credibility of science using district data. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The CTSAs developed easily interpretable and actionable data displays. Partnered school districts observed data in real time to identify signals of change. Districts in the national network were able to learn in real time from variation across districts based on policies and procedures that they adopted, such as quarantine, masking, and physical distancing. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This scientific collaboration is a model of rapid CTSA response, informing science and real-time action. The data displays enable school districts to explain decisions regarding student and staff health and safety. These partnerships and data designs are infrastructure that can be quickly mobilized for emergent and for ongoing information needs.

Forging Partnerships: Preparing School Leaders in Complex Environments

This study examines how two autonomous organizations collaborate toward preparing school principals. Studies exploring the early phases of partnership creation are missing from the current literature. As universities continue to partner with school districts to prepare principals, understanding the early development process is important. This study focuses on the beginnings of a university school district partnership using Gajda’s five principles of collaboration and Kezar’s Stage Model for Collaboration. Findings suggest that while the collaboration successfully enrolled students, challenges in the collaboration’s initial phase impede a smooth transition from partnership planning to implementation.

Developing accountability and responsibility: How teacher candidates experience and conceptualize community-based pedagogy in the social studies

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the use of community-based pedagogy in a social studies methods course to encourage teacher candidates to initiate similar practices in the classroom. Through a culturally sustaining framework, community-based pedagogy encourages teacher candidates to center the assets, knowledge, and experiences of students, families, and local communities in social studies education. This critical qualitative research project examines the possibilities and complexities of teacher candidates conceptualizing, experiencing, and practicing community-based pedagogy in social studies education. The findings demonstrate how the use of community-based pedagogy in teacher preparation may expand the aim and scope of social studies. The implications discuss how teacher educators may collaborate with students, families, school district partners, and intergenerational community members in developing community-based teacher preparation in social studies and beyond.

The Influence of University Principal Preparation Program Policies on the Program Internship

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of program admission requirements, university-district partnerships, and course content integration on the internship within principal preparation programs. University principal preparation programs have been a focus of recent attention, specifically since 2005 when the report Arthur Levine published his report, Educating School Leaders. Research identified the field-based internship as a valuable part of principal preparation programs. We developed the Principal Preparation Program Policy Survey (4Ps) to collect data from program chairs of public universities across the nation. We employed structural equation modeling to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that partnership policies have significant relationships with the principal internship and with admission requirements. Universities that develop strong district partnership policies are more likely to have strong internship and admission policies for their preparation programs. Similarly, admission policies have a significant relationship with program-course content integration, which means that the universities that produce strong admission policies are more likely to produce strong program course-content integration policies. Because this study provides empirical evidence that universitydistrict partnership policies and admissions policies have a significant relationship with internship policies, it is important for university principal preparation faculty to review their university-district partnership and admission policies and practices in relation to their internship policies and practices. The outcome based on the results implies that the stronger the university-district partnerships and admissions policies are, the stronger the internship will be.

Second Most Important Decision

For principal preparation program success, the selection of an aspiring school administrator’s internship placement/mentor principal is second in importance only to the decision about whom to select into the program. In this article, we review the scant literature on internship placement assignment processes, none of which are specific to rural places. We then describe the Principal Preparation for Excellence and Equity in Rural Schools (PPEERS) program – a partnership of 12 rural districts and a large public university – and explain the process by which the partnership co-designed their internship placement protocol and Assignment of Internship Placements tool. We then introduce the protocol, which involves program leaders traveling to each rural partner district across a wide geographic area to meet with the superintendent and District Point Person – the cabinet-level administrator who is the lead district liaison for PPEERS – to consensually select a mentor principal/internship site for each Intern, using the internship tool, which identifies factors to select for and to avoid. After describing the protocol and introducing the tool, we outline our action research methods. Utilizing a two-phase reflective inquiry process, we drew on perceptions of leadership coaches, district partners, and program leaders to reflect on contextual considerations, the impact of the tool, and ways to improve our placement practice. Contextual considerations reflect realities of rural districts, including limited placement choices in small districts, limited number of principals who fit the mentor principal criteria, and micropolitical considerations. Improvements to our process include considering the entire leadership team of a school when selecting placements; including additions to the tool regarding consideration of equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as addition of a “Goldilocks school” element; and ideas for increasing mentor principal readiness and intern knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy when placed in a school level that is unfamiliar to them. In these ways the partnership can leverage rural partner assets and address contextual challenges. We conclude with implications for rural school leader preparation programs.

Impact of Educational Neuroscience Teacher Professional Development: Perceptions of School Personnel

There has been an increased focus on the importance of educational cognitive neuroscience for teachers, yet the research on the outcomes of teacher training in this area are minimal. We created and implemented an Educational Neuroscience professional development (PD) delivered throughout the 2020–2021 school year. This study was co-designed between researchers and school district partners. Participants were school personnel from a high school in Western Canada consisting of approximately 1,400 students and 75 teachers. All participants in the PD, including teachers and school staff, were invited to participate in interviews about their experiences during the PD. Seven in-depth structured interviews were performed to understand participants’ experiences, their perceptions of the value of educational neuroscience, and how the PD impacted their teaching practice. Through inductive coding and thematic analysis, we found that the PD had a positive impact on participants and their students. The sessions primarily increased participants’ knowledge of neuroscience concepts and provided them with practical and useful applications that they were able to employ in their classrooms in areas related to lesson planning, assessment, and student engagement. Participants described the remarkable impact that increased neuroscience knowledge had on their relationships with students and on students’ own understandings of neuroscience concepts. Overall, these findings provide further evidence on the significance of infusing educational neuroscience in teacher PD and highlight the importance of collaborative programs between researchers and educators to bridge the research to practice gap.

Promoting Professional Practice Standards through Consultation Training: Opportunities from a University-School District Partnership

ABSTRACT The National Association of School Psychologists’ Professional Standards delineate 10 domains of professional practice that are infused into graduate preparation, credentialing recommendations, and service delivery. School psychology graduate students need exposure to, and practice with, these domains. A university-based graduate class in consultation skills is an ideal mechanism for learning and applying the domains of practice. However, the domains cannot be meaningfully practiced without a partner school district that is willing to provide opportunities for students to advance their knowledge and skills in real world settings. Thus, the purpose of this article is to describe one such partnership and the robust opportunities for consultation enabled by the school district. Such opportunities cut across virtually all domains of training and practice and provide mutual benefit to the students and to the school district. Outcomes for graduate students and the school district are discussed, and components of successful university-district partnerships are presented.