Exemplary Practices

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Exemplary PracticesC-1:The Juggling Act: Preparing Teachers While Trying toSupportSecondary Student AchievementHistory

The Graduate School of Education and Human Development, The GeorgeWashington University, iscommitted to collaborative teacher training endeavors

supported by partnership activities. The UrbanInitiative is a Professional

Development School Partnership established as the result of continuing

work,over several years of commitment, to the Washington, D.C. Public

Schools. Working in cooperation withCardozo High Schools Ninth Grade

Learning Community, the project offers a dual certification teacherpreparation

program in secondary and spec ial education and urba n school reform/ change

efforts.The mission of the partnership was to bring together partners who would

support the university and theschool in its joint work to: (1) prepare teachers for

urban schools; and (2) address the difficult issue of raising student

achievement. At the time of the partnership agreement, the school leadership wasin flux an appointed Board of Trustees, which had usurped the power of the

elected school board, had put GeneralBecton in charge of the

schools. Subsequently, a superintendent was chosen by the Board to assume

whatwas undeniably a school system in crisis. Two major partners joined the

Urban Initiative: The World Bank Group, increasingly involved in the city, chose

the GWU/Cardozo Urban Initiative as one major domesticendeavor; and AT&T

gave substantial support and funding to the project, most particularly the areas

of literacy and technology.The Urban Initiative collaborates with Cardozo

general and special education teachers who are responsibleto the Explorers Ninth

Grade Learning Community to prepare teachers for dual certification in

transitionspecial education and a secondary content area. In addition all

Urban Initiative teacher interns teachLiteracy, a special ninth grade course which

focuses on increasing the literacy and technologycompetencies of entering ninth

graders.Project ComponentsPre-service Education/Dual CertificationLiteracy FocusTechnology

IntegrationCurriculum Development/InclusionIn-service Professional

DevelopmentStudent Advisory GroupsA quality pre-service preparation program

for George Washington University graduate students, supportedby the faculty

and Urban Initiative staff onsite at Cardozo, is the hub around which six major

programcomponents are st ruc tu red. The cur ri cu lum for pre-serv ice tea ch ers andfor Cardozo students supports afocus on literacy and technology integration.

Curriculum development emphasizes interdisciplinary unitsthat are standards-

based and demonstra te inc lus ive practic e. The in -serv ice professional

developmentcomponent for Cardozo teachers, La Escuela de los

Profesores/Teachers' School, responds to research thatidentifies onsite and

teacher-generated staff development as the key to productive

profession aldev elopment. Ninth grad e student s par ticipate in weekl y Advisory

Groups with teacher advisors and havework-based field trips four times yearly,

bo th of which enhanc e po si tive connect ions to school , teach er s,and peers and

prepare them to make caree r deci sions.

Guiding Our Practice


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The Urban Initiative has been chosen as one of five national case study sites of

the USDOE ContextualTeaching and Learning Project (CT&L). As such, the CTL

characteristics are a part of the program andserve as guides for thinking about

improving the pre-service teacher preparation. C-1 Exemplary Practices

Selection and

AdmissionProcessWere

looking for afew good men and

women

A key to the zeroattrition rate in three

years of the Urban


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Initiative and its

precursor, D.C.Spirit, is

carefulselection ofstudents. Two factors

seem to indicate that

students are ready toface the challenge

of becoming teachers

in urban schools: (1)

prior employment

experience so that


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they truly

understand theworldof work and have

made a consciouschoice to become

teachers; and (2) a

commitment tosocial justice, in the

form of prior

advocacy or work

with young

people. The Haberma


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n interview protocol

assiststhe faculty andproject staff as well

as the applicants inmaking thoughtful

decisions about the

probabilityofsuccessful

completion of the

program as well as a

commitment to

teaching as a


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career.The

admissions processis personal because

teachingis personal. Prospecti

ve students meet with

facultyadvisorsand spend a day at

Cardozo observing

classes and talking

to current

interns. They write


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astatement of

purpose and preparean onsite writing

sample, as wellas participate in

group

discussion,sharingtheir reasons for

wanting to become a

teacher. We want the

prospective interns

and the faculty


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andstaff to jointly

participate in makingthe best decision

about which clinicalplacement in The

GeorgeWashington

University TeacherEducation Program

best fits the career

goals, experiences,

and strengths of the

graduate student.


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Pre-ServicePreparation:

A ProjectCornerstone"If you can do it

here, you can do it

anywhere"

Exemplary practicedemonstrates that

teachers who are


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prepared in the

complex context ofan urban schoolfor a

full year, with thesupport of

cooperating teachers,

university faculty andonsite staff, and a

strongcohort stand a

better chance of

remaining in urban

schools. The pre-


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service program is a

rigorous 42-hourMasters program

that certifies teachersin a Secondary

Education content

area with a SpecialEducationendorseme

nt and offers teacher

interns the

opportunity for a full

year internship at


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Cardozo. While in

theschool context,each intern has a full

day

they co-teach aliteracy class; plan

with staff, teachers

andteammates; teacha content or special

education class; and

spend one class

period of the four

period day


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inseminars and

reflection sessionswith fellow interns in

their cohort.Teacherinterns have multiple

opportunities for

problem solving in asupportive and

collaborativeenviron

ment with George

Washington Universit

y project staff and


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faculty, cooperating

teachers, andCardozofaculty. Teacher

interns participatein the full life of the

school: attending

meetings andstaff development;

curriculum planning

and implementation;

teaching and

assessing; co-


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facilitating

AdvisoryGroups andhomerooms;

maintaining contactwith parents;

tutoring; extending

their technologyskills; andimmersing

themselves in the life

of the school and the

students. The Urban

Initiative Partnership


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leaders in thedynamic

environment of urbaneducation.

Literacy andTechnology

FocusDesigning a

secondary school

professional

development school

partnership devoted


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to the needs of

studentsat risk forschool failure due to

significant literacydeficiencies is an

ambitious

undertaking. Yet thatfocusupon students at

risk is the heart of the

attempt to change the

life course for

students in urban


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schools. Atthe center

of the UrbanInitiative work are

strategic reading,writing, and

communication,

which arefullysupported by

access to technology

and the development

of technological

skill. The diagnostic


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andprescriptive

reading process thatis consistent with

best practice assistsall interns in

becoming teachers

of reading andwriting. Interns are

taught to use

technology as a

vehicle for

instruction, and for


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preparingstudents for

their transition towork and citizenship.

The Real DealThe interns, UrbanInitiative staff, and

university faculty

collaborate with

Cardozo teachers toattack themultiple

issues presented by


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students who are

placed at risk forschool failure

because of povertyandinadequate

preparation

experiences. However intractable the

dilemma may be, we

are

problem solvingdaily

around important


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issues, thereby

offering a model forteacher interns as

they assume theirroles asC-1 Exemplary

Practices

Exemplary Practices

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