Abstract:

Maryland State Board of Education (2003) indicated that during the last decade, a number of studies have corroborated the correlation between student achievement and the quality of instruction. In fact evidence has established that the better the teacher quality, the better students learn. Teacher quality has also been found to be predictive of student outcomes. If we know that good teachers make a difference, why haven’t we achieved high quality teaching in every American classroom? Society often looks in the wrong direction for an answer—toward a teacher shortage. According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future and NCTAF State Partners (2002) the turnover rate among teachers is significantly higher than for other occupations. An alarming and unsustainable number of teachers are leaving teaching during their first few years of teaching. But no teacher supply strategy will ever keep our classrooms staffed with quality teachers if we do not reverse the debilitating rate of teacher attrition.
Partnerships between universities and public schools are essential in preparing future educators. Public schools provide universities with future students, and colleges and universities prepare and train future teachers. Both entities are devoted to the pursuit of learning and intellectual development, and both are instrumental in preparing American youth for future roles in society. According to Bailey (1988) research has indicated that public schools and universities are more influential and effective when working as partners rather than as independent. Prater (2002) indicated that due to the increase in teacher candidates placed in public school, the collaboration between public schools and universities has also increased.

Bowie State University’s College of Education established a number of partnership programs in August 2005 with Prince George’s County Public Schools. The Master of Education in Reading and the Master of Education in Special Education, programs were offered to those students who needed additional work to complete certification and recertification. Bowie State University and Prince George’s County Public School System partnerships were developed to offer Prince George’s County Public School teachers an opportunity to obtain a masters degree in reading or special education or to complete courses for certification or re-certification. Implementation of structured partnerships has the ability to produce highly qualified, caring educators who are skillful instructional leaders and agents of change for an increasingly diverse learning environment.

Do partnerships work? To answer that question, observe the number of persons that have completed the Bowie State University/Prince George’s County Public School Partnerships and continue to teach within the public school setting. There is approximately a 95% retention rate of teacher’s who completed a master’s degrees or coursework towards certification. Should partnerships such as this one continue, most definitely, they are not only beneficial to the public school but also to the university. Each entity is able to contribute to the most precious commodity of all, the future of the children who are in the classroom, hanging on to every word that is spoken, every problem that is solved.

Keywords:

Partnerships, Qualified Teachers.