School and university partnerships work best when there is open and constant interaction between professionals in the school setting and professionals from a college or university. The best partnerships are marked by trusting relationships grounded in mutual respect for the knowledge and expertise each person brings to a project. Insiders and outsiders have roles, tasks, and goals that are at the same time unique and complementary. Helping children learn and grow requires weaving together all of the talents and drive each professional contributes to a set of common goals, like those expressed in Science 2020.
Those of us who work in a university setting have obligations to the school and our school colleagues to lend what expertise we have to help with the difficult task of ensuring that all children make progress in their learning journeys. In addition, we have the added obligation to conduct disciplined and systematic inquiry into practices that prove to be effective in advancing knowledge. Once discovered, we are further obligated to share our findings with other scholars and practitioners. Our activities are motivated by a thirst for learning and a desire to inform other educators facing similar challenges in their schools.
The Penn State team includes scholars from the fields of science education, linguistics, second language learning, and instructional coaching. We all realize how fortunate we are to be working with teachers, administrators, and families in Hazelton Area School District. Efforts like the Science 2020 partnership produce benefits for all professionals involved, but more importantly, they result in better learning for children. Please see the brief bios on this web page. Feel free to contact any of us for more information about this partnership.