School-University Collaboration

There are lots of possibilities when it comes to collaboration between colleges and K-12 schools. Time, funding, and a shared interest in working together seem to be the key ingredients in making this happen. Although the types of partnerships that can be developed will be determined to a large extent by the school's proximity to a university education program, not all collaborations require that schools and colleges be located in the same town. Videoconferencing, email, and Internet software can be used to facilitate communication with college faculty members and other participating schools. A few ideas for joint efforts to support new teachers are described below.

• School leaders and education professors can work together to develop mentoring and induction programs for new teachers. In some districts, college faculty members are available to problem solve and discuss concerns with beginning teachers (DePaul, 2000; Schaffer, Stringfield & Wolffe, 1992).
  
• College faculty members can be invited to lead seminars on topics of importance for new teachers, or to train mentor teachers (Schaffer, Stringfield & Wolffe, 1992). For schools in remote areas, workshops can be held online or through videoconferencing. Providing professional development units or other credit toward recertification gives teachers an additional incentive to participate.
  
• College professors can be asked to visit classes and lead special activities for students, such as writing workshops or science experiments (DePaul, 2000). This takes some of the pressure off new teachers to develop curriculum, plus providing an opportunity for college faculty members to model effective practice.
  
• School administrators can work with university education programs to develop extended internship programs, in which education students are placed in classrooms for a full year prior to becoming certified (Moore, 1998).
  
• K-12 schools and colleges can work together to develop fifth year programs for new teachers, in which first-year teachers combine graduate coursework with classroom experience (Moore, 1998).

General Guidelines:

Goals and purposes of the collaboration should be clear to everyone involved.
Schools should provide incentives for new and veteran teachers to participate. This may include stipends, additional release time, college credit, professional development units, or steps toward career advancement.
Program developers should designate a coordinator for the collaboration, housed either in the school building, at the school district office, or at the college.
Every effort should be made to ensure that adequate funds and resources are available to establish and sustain the program.

For more detailed guides on how to develop programs for new teachers, see the Appendix.