Wednesday, June 03, 2009

WHO:             UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, Watson School of Education   administrators and superintendents representing 117 schools in Southeastern North Carolina; represented school systems include Brunswick, Carteret, Clinton City, Columbus, Duplin, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Sampson, Whiteville City, Camp Lejeune and Cape Fear Center for Inquiry.  

WHAT:            Signing of new Professional Development System (PDS) agreements for 2009-2012. PDS  is a comprehensive university-public school partnership involving 11 school districts, one Department of Defense school and one charter school. Developed 15 years ago, PDS is designed to create university-public school collaboration in the placement of UNCW student interns, professional development for school educators and research opportunities for district teaching professionals and UNCW faculty. These efforts are particularly critical during this time of teacher shortage and school reform.

WHERE:           Legacy Hall, Education Building, UNCW Campus

WHEN:             1 p.m., Thursday, June 4

WHY:                To strengthen the partnership between UNCW and the school districts and to recommit to continued engagement: districts and schools providing field experiences for UNCW student interns, and UNCW faculty providing professional development and research opportunities for partnership teachers and administrators.

Media contacts:

Kate Heaton, student intern, 704.905.2724 or keh2316@uncw.edu

Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu

Diane Calhoun, director, PDS partnership, 910.962.7244 or calhound@uncw.edu