PRESQUE ISLE – Officials with the University of Maine at Presque Isle and SAD 1 signed an agreement Monday that will allow UMPI education students to take part in extensive internships at Pine Street Elementary School and Presque Isle High School while providing professional development opportunities for veteran teachers there.
Contributed photo
DR. GEHRIG JOHNSON, SAD 1 superintendent, left, and University of Maine at Presque Isle President Don Zillman signed a Professional Development School agreement March 2 that will allow UMPI education students to take part in more extensive internships at Pine Street Elementary School and Presque Isle High School.
UMPI President Don Zillman and SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson signed the memorandum of understanding during a press conference at Pine Street Elementary School. The agreement establishes a Professional Development School partnership between the two educational entities and sets forth five main goals: to increase Pre-kindergarten through grade 12 student achievement, improve teacher preparation, enhance professional development opportunities for UMPI and SAD 1 faculty and staff, more effectively transition students from grade 12 to college, and enhance Advanced Placement opportunities for high school students.
Under the partnership, selected students in UMPI’s education program will have the opportunity to take part in a two-semester teaching internship. The first semester experience would include the first five days of school and one day a week for the rest of the semester, all in the same classroom, while the second semester would be a full immersion into that same classroom for 15 weeks.
Another important component of the partnership includes on-site courses at SAD 1 partner schools taught by UMPI full-time and adjunct faculty that would be open to UMPI’s teacher certification students and SAD 1 teachers seeking recertification or meeting other needs.
“We are extremely excited about the hands-on opportunities and in-depth exposure to the realities of the teaching profession that this is going to provide to our teacher certification students, as well as the continuing education aspect it will provide for professional teachers in the area,” Zillman said. “This partnership allows us to accomplish two goals that are at the heart of what we strive to do as a university – offer the best possible educational experiences for our students and serve the needs of our community.”
Work on the agreement began after members of the university’s college of education contacted local schools seeking interest in forming educational partnerships. SAD 1 officials were among the first to show interest. Faculty from both schools met and what emerged was a strong interest in forming a Professional Development School.
“Professional development is a key to successful teaching,” said Johnson. “This partnership with UMPI will raise the bar of opportunity for SAD 1 teachers to increase achievement for over 2,000 students in the five communities that comprise SAD 1. I believe this partnership has a great chance for success.
“About 45 percent of our teachers are graduates of UMPI,” he said. “The one-year internship aspect of this project was intriguing to me. It will allow student interns to become part of the staff and interact more fully with the students. In my view, to have a year’s worth of experience behind them is going to be invaluable to these college students. It’s a tough market right now. I think being a graduate who’s spent a year with our staff and faculty would really give them a leg up [in their future career].”
PIHS Principal Eric Waddell agreed.
“The notion of being able to ‘interview’ perspective employees for a year is too much,” he said. “I’m thrilled by that process.”
The Professional Development School is expected to provide many immediate benefits. Students will become members of the school community as part of their training for the profession and have the benefit of working with a veteran teacher who can guide, reinforce, and model effective classroom instruction. SAD 1 teachers and the school district will get to co-create with UMPI faculty an educational experience for teacher candidates that will better prepare the students for a career in education, as well as use the partnership as an opportunity to recruit new teachers well prepared to enter the profession.
Four SAD 1 teachers have agreed to work with UMPI students on this time-intensive student teaching internship effort. Participating from Pine Street will be special education teacher Karen Seeley and kindergarten teacher Tammy Willey, while Presque Isle High School’s LeRae Kinney, social studies department chair, and senior biology teacher Linda Palmer, will also participate.
The Professional Development School agreement will be implemented in the fall of 2009, placing teacher certification students from UMPI in Presque Isle High School and Pine Street Elementary School classrooms. Principals Waddell and Loretta Clark will serve as site coordinators on this partnership; Dr. Barbara Chalou, professor of education, will serve as the site coordinator at UMPI.
“I’m excited to be part of this innovative project, at the heart of which is student achievement,” Chalou said. “This Professional Development School agreement really separates UMPI from every other teacher education preparation program in Maine.”
This is the second Professional Development School partnership the university has established in Aroostook County. Last summer, UMPI officials signed a similar agreement with the Caribou School Department. University officials hope to establish similar partnerships with other area schools in the future.
