Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum
Proposes Plan
To Improve Educational System in Texas’ Public Schools
Note: Report published in April 1993
CONTACT:
Valleau Wilkie, Jr., Dxecutive Director
Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Fort Worth
817/336-0494
FORT WORTH, TX - A coalition of business and civic leaders, government officials, private foundations and educators ranging from university deans to kindergarten teachers have proposed a specific plan to improve the education system in Texas' public schools.
Their recommendations are presented in a report, THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOOL: A COMMONSENSE APPROACH TO IMPROVING EDUCATION, which was released in April 1993 by the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum.
The Professional Development School is based on the basic principle that university professors, public school teachers and administrators must work together with prospective teachers and administrators to build a collegial learning community. Its goal is the intellectual development of all of its members - students, teachers, administrators, professors and future educators.
Presently, formal programs that promote collaboration between public school teachers and administrators and university faculties are limited in Texas.
"The Professional Development School model being developed by the Sid Richardson Foundation is an excellent example of the types of collaborative efforts needed to achieve our goal," he said. "It is the kind of innovative thinking that we need to realize the dramatic improvement necessary to student achievement."
"The Professional Development School is a new kind of school in many respects," said Valleau Wilkie, Jr., executive director of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Fort Worth, and convenor of the Forum. "It embraces democratic values and uses the full range of knowledge and skills of classroom teachers, school administrators, future teachers and professors to shape the school, teacher-preparation curricula and the teaching and learning processes."
The Forum's report endorses and outlines the critical features of a Professional Development School model set forth by the Holmes Group in 1990 in a book entitled, TOMORROW'S SCHOOLS: PRINCIPLES FOR THE DESIGN OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS.
The Professional Development School (PDS) concept borrows heavily from the tested medical model of teaching-hospitals, where practitioners, researchers and clinical professors work together to expand the knowledge base of medicine, improve medical services to patients and prepare future practitioners.
"While the medical model is not flawless and should not be slavishly mimicked, it is vastly superior to customary collaborations that are presently found among public schools and universities," Mr. Wilkie said.
The Forum was formed in October 1990 in response to a request from the Texas Business and Education Coalition (TBEC) to the Sid W. Richardson Foundation to convene a design team to determine what important principles should be considered in creating and field- testing the Professional Development School. Austin-based TBEC had been established to give leadership to grass-roots coalitions and to stimulate collaboration among concerned individuals and organizations at the state and local levels.
The Forum's assignment was to explore steps that could be taken to bring about effective and radical change. "In those discussions, the Holmes Group concept soon became the model upon which we all could agree," said Dr. Bennat Mullen, chair of the Forum and professor of education, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches. "This was a model that pointed to radical change, but also substantial flexibility. The need to change our educational system is well documented. The question is, 'What do we want to change and how do we make it happen so we get truly better teachers and better educated students?'," said Mr. Wilkie. "These are the problems the Forum studied for nearly two years and that its report addresses. The primary message is that we need to bridge the gap between universities that bear the responsibility for educating teachers and the schools in which those teachers teach."
The Professional Development School seeks to create a more effective educational system by making educators at all levels true professional practitioners. It works to attain five major objectives:
1. to develop the literacy, numeracy and reasoning skills of all students;
2. to develop the staff of the school in effective teaching and administration;
3. to prepare future teachers, administrators and teacher educators in effective teaching and leadership;
4. to engage in necessary research and reflection about learning; and
5. to serve as a model of learning, inquiry, reflection, innovation and professionalism for other schools.
Support from school districts, local universities, community leaders and state government is essential for the Professional Development School model to succeed. It may begin as a cooperative effort between the local school district and a university that trains teachers and other educational professionals.
Individual schools are selected to participate and resources are shared. Initially, participating professors, teachers and principals should be volunteers and rewarded in some way for accepting additional responsibility to establish the program. Relevant research should be developed, and student teachers should be prepared for the realities of teaching in contemporary schools. Community leaders must support the transformation of local schools and help provide resources to make the changes possible. The state should provide funding and be willing to waive regulations that inhibit innovative projects.
Estimates to fund a carefully planned PDS project with two to three schools and student bodies of 300 to 500 range from $100,000 to $150,000 annually. Cost variables include the extent of technology and whether the project includes high school or elementary and middle schools. The diversity of subject matter required in middle and high schools will result in expenses not required in elementary schools.
Overall goals are to do whatever is necessary to ensure that all school children become engaged learners under the tutelage of well-prepared teachers, and that educators are able to use intelligently the full range of their abilities.
Underscoring and supporting the Forum's call for widespread use of the Professional Development School model as one of the best ways to reform public school education are reports from four successful Professional Development School models started in several communities across the state during the last two years. Underwritten by grants from the Sid W. Richardson Foundation and/or the Texas Education Agency, these Professional Development School programs are affiliated with Tarleton State University, Stephenville; Texas A&M University, College Station; Texas Christian University, Fort Worth; and Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
"The foundation for the Tarleton State Professional Development School was established in 1988 when the Effective School Project (ESP) was initiated," said Dr. Jim Boyd, who was dean of education at Tarleton State University until he became president of Weatherford College in 1992.
Participants were asked to make a long-term commitment to campus improvement and to send leadership teams consisting of teachers and administrators to seminars on the TSU campus. In addition, faculty members from TSU served as mentors for each participating school. The project also established an extensive professional network, involving participating schools which permitted them to share ideas and explore new initiatives together. In the first year of operation, twenty-four public schools participated in the project. In the fall of 1992, a total of 107 schools/agencies were involved in ESP.
Follow-up data on the program's effectiveness is encouraging. Teacher-administrator relations have improved significantly in participating schools. Teachers also feel they have a much greater voice in campus leadership.
While all ESP campuses are viewed as members of the TSU Professional Development project, Glen Rose Elementary School was identified as a primary demonstration site in the fall of 1992. This school was chosen because of its proximity to the TSU campus and availability of state-of-the-art technology. "Twelve student teachers from TSU are serving internships at Glen Rose," said Dr. William Larmer, associate dean of Tarleton State's College of Education and Fine Arts. "It is not a paid internship, but it is an intensive field-based semester that gives the intern a much more thorough and rigorous professional development program in contrast to the more limited experience of student teaching."
Data gained from the Glen Rose site will be shared with participants, and other schools will become demonstration sites in the future.
"Participating in the ESP and then the PDS program was a professional high for the Tarleton State faculty, student teachers and local school personnel," Dr. Boyd said. "By sharing ideas, resources and expertise, educators from all levels are making significant progress in improving the quality of the schools they serve."
Dr. Larmer said he believes that the strength of the Professional Development School is realizing the fact that it unites the public school faculty and the university faculty around the common goal of training pre-service teachers. "The value is that both faculties must be cognizant of how to apply the research-proven practices in the classroom," Dr. Larmer said. "In the past, our tendency has been to just teach the way we were taught. Educational research may have indicated that there were other ways that were more effective, but our experience told us that, 'well, this is the way it's done.' And our tendency has been to rely on our experience."
"The Professional Development School, however, emphasizes the practical application of research," Dr. Larmer said. "If we are going to improve the public schools and improve teacher education simultaneously, it will be through the practical application of research."
Dr. Jane Stallings, dean of the College of Education at Texas A&M University, said, "the Professional Development School creates a meaningful link between university theory and research and public school practice. It's a way to develop new ideas, test new practices and innovations. It's an opportunity for joint research and evaluation, and an opportunity to disseminate newly acquired knowledge about teaching and learning. Most importantly, partnerships between public schools and universities offer a great deal of promise from simultaneous reform and restructuring of colleges of education, public schools and community services," she said.
Although Texas A&M is facilitating the development of ten school-university collaborations, the Jane Long Middle School located in Bryan is its most complex restructuring effort and provides an illustration of a preparation program for a full-service school where teachers, administrators, and school and counseling psychologists are developed in collaboration with school and college faculties.
The Jane Long PDS partners are committed to a long-term partnership which is supported by a commitment from the school, community, and the university. "A very important issue associated with PDS efforts is the reallocation of existing funds and the establishment of new funds to support the labor intensive efforts involved with collaboration," Dr. Stallings said.
Dr. Douglas J. Simpson, dean of education, Texas Christian University, said the Professional Development School "presents the single most important opportunity that I've had in teacher education in terms of collaborating with public schools."
Presently, three elementary schools in the Fort Worth Independent School District are participating in the Professional Development School project with TCU's School of Education. Two of the schools, Como and Hubbard, were selected through a competitive application process. The third school, Alice E. Carlson, was nominated by the Fort Worth ISD. While Alice E. Carlson was preplanned as an applied learning center, Como and Hubbard changes are emerging as teachers, administrators and others work together to redesign the schools. "PDS represents a significant breakthrough and a great opportunity to take a giant step forward in the genuine professionalization of educator preparation programs for our public schools and universities," he said. "Students in public schools will benefit from the increased knowledge, awareness, and skills of teachers," Dr. Simpson said. "Students learning to teach will benefit by learning more about cultural and ethnic differences so that they will be better informed about other people with different backgrounds," he said. "They will have a greater appreciation and understanding as a result of their experience of working in public schools, and they also will learn more about how to work in urban schools as opposed to suburban schools."
"Administrators will benefit by remaining aware of current developments being taught at the university level and by teaching administrator interns how to carry out their assignments," Dr. Simpson said. Texas Tech University's Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Charles W. Smith, said, "I've been in this business for over 30 years, and I have never been as excited as I am about the prospect we have right now to improve schools while simultaneously improving teaching education, and really prepare teachers to work in the schools of the future; the kind of schools we're going to need in the 21st century."
Texas Tech is in its second year of collaborative work with four schools in the Lubbock Independent School District, one from nearby Wilson and Texas' Region 17 Education Service Center in Lubbock. Dr. Smith said the program has established linkages between the university classroom where teachers are prepared in the real world of the public school classroom where they teach. "The idea is to get our faculty engaged in the activities of the schools. We want there to be a direct relationship between what is going on at the schools and what we're teaching in our teacher- preparation programs," he said. "We're figuring out ways to redesign teachers so we can produce a better product."
An important facet of the Professional Development School approach is that counselors, administrators and community services personnel are involved as well. They work as collaborative teams to help students and their families overcome family and societal problems that hinder effective education. "We have several research projects going on in schools with teachers and administrative and counseling interns," Dr. Smith said. "That gives the public schools additional personnel to deal with problems and prevent drop outs. It also provides us with a first-rate site to train not only teachers but also future counselors and administrators."
Dr. Smith said that although the program is relatively new and small in scope compared with the total number of public schools in need of help, there has been an early spin-off effect that is helping the rest of the Lubbock public school system.
"Some of the ideas initiated by the Professional Development School are being picked up by area schools that are not formally part of the program," he said. "The energy and leading-edge practices of the Professional Development School have helped everybody in the local public school community."
The Forum's report concludes with a call for action based in its commonsense approach subtitle.
"The future of our children and, therefore, of the country depends partially upon the quality of public schools and teacher-preparation programs. In light of this fact, it is obvious that schools and universities should work together to ensure that they provide the best possible education for all children and youth. The Professional Development School is an open window that awaits those who have a vision of educating everyone and of building a profession that enables educators to utilize intelligently the full range of their abilities. We strongly encourage school districts and universities to consider carefully and plan jointly to become partners in this very important endeavor."
Excerpts from The Professional Development School: A Commonsense Approach to Improving Education
A Report by The Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum
Released in April 1993The Forum's report notes the crisis in American education is too well documented to require any additional evidence. Low test scores, high dropout rates and unfavorable comparison with education in other countries have been well publicized.
While school reform alone cannot eliminate all the causes of educational failure in our society, a more responsive educational system is a vital step in breaking the cycle of failure that entraps many of our students and teachers. Schools and universities must be willing to re-examine everything: the way they utilize personnel, space, money, time, research and technology. They must creatively build different kinds of schools and preparation programs that bridge the gap between what is learned and what people need to understand and be able to do in order to be productive in the future. And a key step in improving education is improving the preparation of teachers and administrators.
We will not have better schools until we have better prepared teachers and administrators, but we also will not keep many of our best teachers and administrators unless we create better schools. In order to accomplish these dual goals, a different type of preparation is necessary. Different kinds of schools must be created, too.
The most compelling reason for insisting upon a full utilization of our resources to send healthy children to school and to educate them properly after they arrive is the need to create an ethical society. Among other characteristics of an ethical society are the tendencies of its leaders and citizens to act justly, caringly, and responsibly. To provide this preparation, we propose transforming both teacher- and administrator-preparation programs and schools by establishing Professional Development Schools.
Children are often limited in their ability to learn by environmental forces such as family poverty, child neglect, sexual abuse, drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, racial discrimination and social violence. These factors not only affect the readiness and capabilities of children, they also influence the level of support that children receive at home. This web affects school activities, creating circumstances that militate against the growth of an educative atmosphere where learning is a top priority.
Teachers often come from social groups unfamiliar with these problems. And many colleges of education, which are part of the culture of the university, do little to prepare teachers to work in environments influenced by today's social crises. While education graduates may function well in suburban settings, many are often ineffective in more difficult urban or rural environments.
Educators often find themselves ensnared in a social system that is ravaging our children, a political system that regulates more than it facilitates learning, and an educational system that is often centralized, bureaucratic and inflexible. The result of this situation is that many of our most promising educators leave the profession each year and those that remain are often demoralized by a culture of failure.
If schools and universities do not demonstrate aggressive leadership in addressing the needs of students, teachers and administrators, it is highly probable that society will continue to lose confidence in both sets of institutions. Worse than the loss of trust in these institutions is the tragedy of losing thousands of children and youth to ways of life that are unproductive or destructive.
Perhaps an analogy can clarify the importance of society working together to address these problems. The relationship of society to schools is much like a river that in recent years has been polluted by the poisons flowing into it from tributaries. The pollutants spread and commingle as tributaries reach the mouth of the river. This process is allowed to continue for decades. Finally, those people who earn their livings miles down river are asked why their farming of the river is not as productive as it once was.
There are many outstanding teachers in schools, but their numbers can be expanded by giving them the opportunity to mentor future teachers. And future administrators need to be given the opportunity to learn from reflective and creative principals. By the same token, there are outstanding professors whose analytical and research skills are exceptional; they want and need schools in which to conduct research and advise educators in light of their findings.
About the Report
The bound 48-page document includes an executive summary, an introduction by Valleau Wilkie, a brief history of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum, a list of the manuscript authors and discussants, and a bibliography. The report is printed on recycled paper.
Other Reports
Other reports sponsored by the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum: Restructuring the University Reward System (April 1997) and Principals for the Schools of Texas: A Seamless Web of Professional Development (May 1997).
To Order Reports
Copies of the reports are available without charge by writing, calling, or faxing the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, 309 Main Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102-4088. Telephone: 817-336-0494; Fax: 817-332-2176.