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Power of Collaboration
When Lacy Redd became principal of Newberry Elementary in 2002, the rural Alachua County school had just received a “C” under Florida’s school grading system and was struggling to meet the academic needs of individual students.
The school lacked direction and leadership, Redd believed, and she needed to make some dramatic changes. One of her first steps was to link Newberry with a coalition of 10 local elementary schools in UF’s College of Education’s Professional Development Communities program.
UF partners with PDC schools to form a network of school- and university-based teacher-educators committed to “inclusive education” — preparing the next generation of elementary teachers to teach all learners, including those with distinctive needs — while pursuing ongoing school improvement. Newberry Elementary teachers collaborated with UF professors and doctoral students to mentor prospective teachers from the college’s teacher education program. The pre-interns integrate theory and practice in their daily classroom exposure, and also conduct research addressing targeted areas for school improvement.
Professors and doctoral students work on site to provide professional support in each area of school improvement and coach prospective teachers and their mentors. Teachers and principals at the 10 partnering schools also exchange experiences and ideas for school improvement.
“My teachers feel empowered when they see the positive results from the changes we’ve made in the academic achievement of our kids,” Redd says. “I love helping train the next generation of inclusive teachers and watching my teachers improve their own practices. With the ‘extra hands’ provided by the pre-interns, we’re much more able to meet the needs of individual students.”
Newberry Elementary is now working to extend a string of three consecutive years as an “A” school, due in large part to its PDC partnership, Redd says.
PDC director Darby Delane, who steers the program as part of her doctoral studies while doubling as UF’s on-site coordinator at Newberry Elementary, credits her PDC experience for reviving her own teaching career.
“It turned on a light bulb in my mind and changed my whole outlook. I’d never realized the potential power of collaboration between teachers and interns and children and administrators,” the former middle school social studies teacher says. “It creates a ripple effect of support and growth for everyone involved, and that’s when kids really feel the impact on their learning.”
