Students in the PDS work in the same classroom for an entire school year
Penn State/State College PDS Wins Spirit of Partnership Award For the fourth time in 10 years, the Professional Development School (PDS) collaborative between Penn State’s College of Education and the State College Area School District has received a national award. The Penn State/State College PDS is winner of the 2011 Spirit of Partnership Award, given March 10 by the University of South Carolina’s PDS National Conference Planning Team at the PDS National Conference in New Orleans. The PDS involves preservice teachers and faculty members at Penn State, as well as veteran teachers and administrators of the school district. The preservice teachers work in the classrooms of veteran teachers, who in turn benefit in their own professional development in their roles as mentors. The Spirit of Partnership Award recognizes institutions that have played key roles in the success of the PDS National Conference. Conference committee chair Bruce Field noted, “This long overdue recognition acknowledges the impressive contributions Penn State and its partner schools have made to the conference in terms of sheer numbers—my count shows 90 presentations since 2006—but also in terms of the vibrant intellectual spirit those presentations have brought to the event.” Bernard Badiali, coordinator of the Penn State/State College PDS, said, “We’ve found that presenting the work we do together at a national conference plays an important part in keeping us focused on simultaneously renewing our teacher education program and the schools themselves.”
— Joe Savrock
The Penn State/State College PDS has won three other prominent national awards: • In 2009, the inaugural Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement Award, from the National Association for Professional Development Schools • In 2004, the Nancy Zimpher Outstanding School–University Partnership Award, presented by the Holmes Partnership Group • In 2002, the Distinguished Teacher Education Program, from the Association of Teacher Educators Penn State Education
3