PDS Partners:

Valuing One Another's Talents and Strengths

In the initial phase of the Watson School’s Professional Development System, it was critical that clearly outlined roles and responsibilities for school system teachers, administrators, university faculty, and interns be established. The collaborative frameworks that constitute PDS allow all partners to have a voice in defining and redefining these roles and responsibilities.

As PDS moves into a more advanced phase of its development, new roles and responsibilities will continue to emerge. Because UNCW’s Professional Development System is a complex and dynamic web of partnerships, refinements and additions will continue to be necessary in order to meet the changing needs of both the university and the public schools.

In the PDS Partnerships, 96 Schools and 10 Counties applied to PDS by selecting from a menu of I-IV Options. These options allow for various levels of engagement with the Watson School of Education Professional Development System. Schools agree to:

• Accept intern cohorts
• Participate in PDS training
• Conduct instructional site seminars
• Develop action renewal plans that focus on learning
• Support continuous renewal for educators

University Partners

UNCW’s Watson School of Education faculty are committed to the simultaneous reform of public schools and the creation of a theoretically sound, yet structurally unique, approach to teacher education. The collaborative design and implementation of the Professional Development System University-School Partnership has set mutually beneficial goals deemed important by all partners. Policies and procedures for involvement of university faculty in schools have been established with explicit expectations and incentives designed to create authentic engagement in the field. All faculty are required to engage in research or supervision in public schools on a preestablished cycle.

Public School Partners

PDS school system partners are an integral part of this comprehensive university-school partnership and align efforts and resources for the improvement of education for students in southeastern North Carolina. Formal contractual agreements are signed every three years with the WSE Dean, UNCW Chancellor and Board of Trustees and the ten school system superintendents and their board of education. Partnership teachers and administrators, along with university faculty, participate in required training designed to provide opportunities to gain new understandings and professional skills necessary to the accomplishment of PDS goals. School system partners engage in collaborative research and grant initiatives that relate to school performance and other education issues that address critical needs of North Carolina educators.