The Brigham Young University-Public School Partnership, which includes the David O. McKay School of Education, five nearby public school districts and arts and sciences departments at BYU, was honored recently by the National Association of Professional Development Schools.
Only four NAPDS Awards for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement were given, and it’s rare for a partnership to be awarded on its first year of application, as the BYU-PSP was, said Lynnette Christensen, who completed and submitted the award application.
“It’s a wonderful honor to receive a national award like this,” she said.
A program that has functioned effectively for 28 years and affected one-third of Utah’s public school students, the BYU-PSP was established to simultaneously improve teacher preparation and public school learning.
“We do a lot of important work to strengthen our public school teachers and university teacher candidates for the benefit of all K-12 students,” said Steven Baugh, the program’s executive director. The scope of the partnership is unusual for its size and longevity, but it has proven to be highly successful.
“Most partnerships work with two or three schools, and graduates of the education college are encouraged to go to those few schools," he said. "In comparison, our partnership is with five school districts. That’s hundreds of schools. Our partnership impacts many more people and provides for a wider distribution of interns and student teachers.”
Thanks to this partnership model, “not only the K-12 students but the university students as well have a huge advantage,” said Baugh. “This award is a chance for us to let people see the good work that we’ve been doing.”
The NAPDS is dedicated to promoting school-university partnerships in support of teacher education.
For more information, contact Roxanna Johnson, (801) 422-1922, roxanna_johnson@byu.edu, or visit www.napds.org.
Writer: Roxanna Johnson
