The Salem-Keizer Collaborative Developing a Collaborative Advantage Through Clinical Partnerships

1. The Salem-Keizer Collaborative Developing a Collaborative Advantage Through Clinical Partnerships Mary Cadez, S-K Assistant Superintendent Hilda Roselli, Western Oregon University Dean Janine Allen, Corban University Dean Julie Gess-Newsome, Willamette University Dean

2. The Demand is created for the Second Order Change • A highly qualified, well prepared teacher in front of each student everyday. • Teaching a well defined curriculum • Using instructional strategies that are research based and proven • Guided by authentic data These are the most important tools we have for increasing student achievement and closing the achievement gap.

3. Members of the S-K Teacher Preparation Collaborative Team • Western Oregon University • Willamette University • Corban University • Salem-Keizer Mentor Program, Professional Development, Instructional Services,Teacher Quality Office, S-K School Administrators and Level Directors Office

4. Roundtable Focus Today we will: • Review the vision and scope of the collaborative plan • Discuss the activities underway that relate to Howey’s Framework for Setting Priorities and Building Partnership Prototypes • Share lessons learned from our partnership to date.

5. Mission: Our overall mission is improving student achievement through enhanced student learning and teaching quality.

6. Our vision Dedication to the comprehensive, collaborative and systematic improvement of teacher education at the pre-service and in-service levels Creation of seamless, strategic support for the transition of pre-service and in-service teachers from recruitment through continued high quality professional development grounded in the advice and support of the collaborative.

7. Vision Commitment to developing and supporting partnerships that include sustained, shared efforts in research and evaluation of the professional development of all pre-service and in-service teachers. This includes quality assurance in student teaching experiences and innovative practices such as co-teaching, student teaching dyads, and the inclusion of pre-service teachers in the professional learning communities of their schools.

8. Articulating our beliefs as a Collaborative Team • Stronger placements occur in groups and help build teachers as collaborators • Stronger University supervisor involvement in schools increases our schools’ mission of improved student achievement and keeps the supervisor abreast of what is happening in the school • Veteran teachers can be re-vitalized and renewed through leadership training and involvement in teacher preparation • Authentic experiences are mutually beneficial, especially when expertise is concentrated in fewer locations for greater impact.

9. Beliefs Continued: • Problems are resolved when we re-craft what we are doing as a unified, collaborative team • Instruction is higher quality when it is aligned to current best practices and research • High quality training has a greater effect when shared through the partnership • Efficiency and productivity are enhanced through the use of common language and well defined role definitions • Incentives and empowerment are strong possibilities for all partners through our collaborative efforts

10. Features of the Collaborative • Grew out of informal conversation between the College of Education Deans from Corban, Willamette and Western Oregon Universities and Salem-Keizer Administration • Two-three members from each higher education institution (faculty, chair, dean) and guests • Key personnel from the district • Shared agenda development/book study/live binder for shared notes and resources • Established meeting times that are a priority for all partners (may use summer for more intense discussion

11. Areas that we anticipate will be addressed through our collaborative efforts: Teacher effectiveness and impact on student achievement and continuous professional growth Abbreviated pre-service training time in the classroom Praxis between academic coursework and practice Recruitment of minority and bi-lingual teacher candidates Retention of teachers in high need schools Selection process for teacher candidates

12. Areas Addressed: Competency of cooperating /mentoring teachers Recency of clinical practice for university faculty Identification of what works and has impact on teacher preparation, teacher practice and ongoing inservice teacher professional growth Greater accountability through active research in the classroom

13. Shared discussion in the Collaborative around topics impacting clinical experiences: • Review of new policies in District or Universities • Hiring and interview processes • Feedback from employers and mentors on local grads • Preparation, selection, incentives and role of clinical teachers • Reciprocal sharing on placements and training for clinical teachers and university clinical faculty • Ways to maximize the benefits of the existing mentoring program

14. Shared discussion on topics: • Development, review, and approval of new grant proposals related to school and university partnerships • Connections with current grants in the district, e.g. CLASS and TIF • Timely data exchanges between district and universities • Exploration of models used in other states • Exposure to district adopted strategies, e.g. ENVoY, SIOP, GLAD, Lit Squared, Learning Labs, Writing Workshop, Math Inquiry, etc.

15. Shared Discussion on topics: • Alignment of forms, tools, processes and training for clinical teachers and university clinical supervisors • Implementation of national core standards • Use of InTASC standards to develop a seamless continuum for teachers at all levels • Strategic involvement of university faculty at multiple clinical sites in the district

16. Priorities for Collaborative Action • Alignment of standards across district and cooperating universities embracing InTASC and district evaluation rubric (Howey-priority #5) • Elevating the selection, role, training and support of clinical (cooperating) teachers (Howey-priority #2) • Use of new clinical teaching models, e.g. co-teaching, dyad placements and learning labs (rounds) (Howey-priority #1) • Development of a new elementary school with an added emphasis as a demonstration/clinical site (Howey-priority #4)

17. Priorities continued: • Identification and preparation of cluster sites at each authorization level (Howey-priority #4) • Recruitment of minority teacher candidates (BRP) • Redirected time and stipends for clinical teachers (Howey-priority #2) • Maximize new technologies to advance teaching, learning and assessment (Holmes Tomorrow’s Schools, Howey-p. 16) • Research and development agenda that supports continuous improvement in clinical teacher preparation (Howey-priority #5, BRP Principle 9)

18. Lessons We are Learning: • Funding is needed to provide classroom teachers and university faculty time to develop, implement and study new clinical models • Partners have both shared needs and individual needs that can be addressed and or improved through the collaborative • We must refine,re-invigorate, support and incentivize teachers as they move beyond the role of cooperating teacher to clinical teacher • Trust, parity, transparency and a willingness are critical components of a successful partnership

19. Lessons continued: • Additional layers and benefits when developing partnerships across multiple institutions within the same district • Leveraging our resources can increase the quality of our programs • Our focus needs to be on a sustainable program design • Work is intense and time-consuming and requires ad-hoc committee work to meet agreed upon timelines

20. Participant Questions and Comments