The National Association for Professional Development Schools advances the education profession by providing leadership, advocacy and support to sustain professional development schools as learning communities that improve student learning, prepare educators through clinical practice, provide reciprocal professional development, and conduct shared inquiry.
A Professional Development School (PDS) is a collaboratively planned and implemented partnership for the academic and clinical preparation of interns and the continuous professional development of both school system and institution of higher education (IHE) faculty. The focus of the PDS partnership is improved student performance through research-based teaching and learning. A PDS may involve a single or multiple schools, school systems and IHEs and may take many forms to reflect specific partnership activities and approaches to improving both teacher education and PreK-12 schools.
The purpose of the PDS is based on three key principles:
The PDS Coordinating Council is the governing body that coordinates all partnership activities and opportunities. The Council meets a minimum of four times each year.
The PDS serves all initial certification programs offered at ÁùºÏÍøÖ·´óÈ« including Undergraduate, BMAT, MAT, GEI, and ACT students. Each internship consists of 100 days. Interns are placed with highly qualified mentors recommended by the site coordinator and approved by the principal.
ÁùºÏÍøÖ·´óÈ« Education Program Honored for School Partnerships