COEHS Clinical Practice Year in Review Report

2022 2023

Clinical Practice

Year in Review Report

Clinical practice in the UNF College of Education

Human Services (COEHS) continues to thrive!

As you’ll read in this annual report, we have:

More than 10 incredible boundary-spanning roles with core partners

Over 30 faculty engaged in clinical practice

and

More than 50 mentor teachers, school administrators, teacher candidates, and faculty engaging in research and presenting at state and national conferences

Provided over $400,000 of economic impact through students’ service hours

Such funding builds on a history of success in securing grants like Project InTERSECT and a teacher quality partnership grant, the Jacksonville Teacher Residency, for the Master of Arts in Teaching with Duval County Public Schools

In addition, we continue to work together to design and facilitate meaningful professional learning at individual school sites and across the partnership that makes a difference for kids We also continue to innovate, working with our partners to develop viable initiatives that make a difference for P-20 students. For instance, our substitute teaching pilot in collaboration with our schools and their corporate partners is growing, and in Fall 2023, we are excited to launch an associate teacher pilot initiative with River City Science Academy where interns will have the opportunity to earn up to $40,500 across the 2023-2024 academic year while co-teaching alongside a skilled mentor teacher. These initiatives and more are changing the way teachers are prepared and have the potential to make a significant impact in addressing the teacher shortage in Florida. All of this is possible because of our collective willingness to work together to solve persistent problems in education and our shared commitment to center PreK-12 students in all our decision-making.

As I reflect on this year, I am in awe of what has been another year of incredible accomplishments. Our collaboration is stronger than ever! And I could not be prouder of what is happening in clinical practice and educational partnerships I will miss all of you, faculty heart is full knowing that the storms of change, and this report, will keep push clinical practice as nationa

Remember, that no matte because we are truly: Bett

Your partner in education - always,

Dr. Rebcca West Burns

Bill Herrold Endowed Professor Director of Clinical Practice and Educational Partnerships College of Education and Human Services University of North Florida

Boundary-Spanning Teacher Educators

Updates on UNF Clinical Practice Initiatives

Partnering for a Purpose

Professional Learning for All Sharing Clinical Practice Research and Practices

Spotlight on Specialized Programs

Awards and Recognition

Boundary-Spanning Teacher Educators

Resident Clinical Faculty

Resident Clinical Faculty (RCF) are boundary spanners with responsibilities between the partnering public school distr charter network they are part of and the University of Nor Florida. They are key liaisons between the district and Univ who build and sustain school-university partnerships so th and its partner districts and charter networks can provide quality professional learning across the educator lifespan teacher candidates to principals.

RCFs supervise and assess UNF teacher candidates assigned to professional development schools (PDS) and serve as the primary resource for linking theory and practice. They also identify potential mentor teachers for teacher candidates, coordinate placements, and support mentor teachers’ professional learning of clinical practice. RCFs also assist with implementing school improvement initiatives by providing professional learning in collaboration with other university faculty.

The 2022-2023 academic year welcomed four new Resident Clinical Faculty: Alexandria (Alex) Capobianco (Tiger Academy), Roshanda (Shanny) Jones (River City Science Academy), Nicole Mumford (DCPS), and Wildalynn Thomas (SJCSD). They joined returning RCFs Nikki Jackson (DCPS), Shaundricka Medlock (CCDS), Rosa Newlin (CCDS), Robin Renelus (DCPS), and Renee Riley (DCPS). This year, RCFs engaged in a range of clinical practices and shared their work publicly through dissemination of their inquiry and practice at national conferences.

Faculty in Residence

Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) are boundary spanning university faculty who harness the resources and knowledge of UNF to support PDS and partner schools. FIRs provide professional learning and supports to help partner schools meet their school improvement goals. A central responsibility that distinguishes FIRs from RCFs is their responsibility to engage in meaningful research at PDS and partner schools with their faculty and students, and disseminate their work at local and national outlets. Both Dr. Hale and Jeania Jones continued their roles as FIRs at Tiger Academy (Hale) and in Duval County Public Schools, at Annie R. Morgan Elementary and Windy Hill Elementary (Jones).

Jeania Jones and the Annie R. Morgan Principal, Tiffany Green, worked to develop efficient and effective mentor teachers for Elementary Field I teacher candidates. Ms. Jones and Principal Green met regularly to discuss areas of need and supports. Due to the influx of new teachers at Annie R. Morgan, Ms. Jones facilitated a Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) session with teachers before preplanning.

Jeania Jones worked with Principal Harris and the leadership team at Windy Hill Elementary to facilitate guided reading common planning sessions. Ms. Jones worked with teachers in understanding LLI and planning lessons to meet the needs of the K-5 students. Ms. Jones taught 3rd grade small group lessons in line with the School Improvement Plan. Ms. Jones also provided lesson planning workshops on site for teacher candidates, as well as co-taught small group lessons.

Dr. Hale continued to offer a wide range of literacy supports with faculty and staff at Tiger Academy. Dr. Hale continued working with Kelly Harrell, the reading interventionist at Tiger Academy, on a collaborative study that examined discrepancies between students' reading levels. This work led to a practice-problem driven FIR and RCF collaboration at Tiger Academy. After reviewing schoolwide data and working with RCF Alex Capobianco, and Kelly Harrell, the reading interventionist at Tiger Academy, the teacher candidates found a common problem and developed a goal of implementing weekly phonics intervention to a select group of Tiger Academy scholars. The teacher candidates received a Words Their Way training and took part in seminars on reading intervention strategies. Alex Capobianco supervised teacher candidates as they completed Tier 2 intervention four times weekly with their small group of scholars. As a team, Tiger Academy was able to support the scholars as they received extra intervention on reading foundational skills. Dr. Hale and Alex Capobianco are intentionally strengthening connections across methods coursework (Literacy 3 and the Reading Practicum), clinical practice, and field seminars through engaging in this work. The team has presented their findings at two faculty meetings as well as at the 2023 NAPDS conference.

Dr. Hale also collaborated with Dr. Kim Cheek (Elementary Education, Xavier Rozas (STEP Lab), and Hongyang Zhan (NEFSTEM Postdoctoral Fellow) to design an implement a multi-phase, crossdisciplinary field trip for Tiger Academy students to come to UNF to participant in inquiry-based learning in science and literacy. This partnership experience was supported by the Holzendorf Urban Budget.

Updates on UNF Clinical Practice Initiatives

Faculty Instructional Teams

Faculty instructional teams (FITs) have continued in the Elementary Education program this year, coled by Jeania Jones and Dr. Rebecca West Burns. FITs are designed to facilitate collaboration among faculty (foundations course instructors, methods course instructors, and clinical experience instructors) to support teacher candidate success through a team approach where a group of faculty assume collective responsibility for teaching the same cohort of teacher candidates in order to deepen their understanding of teacher candidates’ needs, share strategies, and redress educational inequities and barriers that teacher candidates face. They do this by making tasks, activities, and assignments relevant, authentic, and focused on K-12 student learning; integrating content across the semester courses and clinical experiences to foster an interdisciplinary approach to teacher preparation. This year, we launched the “Internship FIT,” a team comprised of internship supervisors from across all six of UNF’s teacher licensure programs at the undergraduate and MAT levels. The Internship FIT met throughout the semester to co-plan interns’ Professional Learning Days, which were half-day workshops led on the UNF campus once a month. Internship supervisors co-facilitated the Professional Learning Days as well, offering differentiated and localized support for interns from various programs. Dr. Nile Stanley is working with colleagues to incorporate the FIT model with field courses in the Masters in Teaching program with a reading endorsement.

The FIT initiative has resulted in a forthcoming book chapter led by Dr. Raven Robinson-Wilson and multiple presentations at national conferences with UNF colleagues.

Clinical Educator Training

Our mentor teachers are the cornerstone of our teacher preparation programs. Becoming a mentor teacher requires multiple criteria. One of the criteria is Clinical Educator Training (CET). The CET sessions are one way to build mentor-teacher capacity. The sessions focus on four specific overarching concepts (1) Growth Mindset, (2) Content Planning Conferences, (3) Observe and Diagnose, and (4) Targeted Feedback.

Drs. Raven Robinson-Wilson and Wendy Baker participated in the state Clinical Education Program Developer Academy last May. Since that time, they have conducted a “Train the Trainer” session for 16 Duval County Public School participants and nine participants from the University of North Florida. Since then, they have conducted multiple mentor teacher sessions at several school sites with RCFs. They have also designed virtual sessions to accommodate the needs of our mentors which started this spring and will continue into the summer 2023 and fall 2023 semesters. Our partner districts and charter networks –Duval County Public Schools, St. John’s County School District, Clay County District Schools, Tiger Academy, and River City Science Academy – provide sessions throughout the school year at varied times for mentors to engage in the sessions. We are also excited to share that we are collaborating with Dr. Jennifer Kilpatrick to provide sessions for those mentoring our teacher candidates in our Deaf Education program for the first time.

Osprey Impact

Teacher candidates across all programs are responsible for tracking their hours spent in clinical settings when they are making an impact on P-12 student learning. While each program varies in the number of hours they complete, the structure of the clinical field experiences, and the tasks/activities they are asked to engage in, all teacher candidates benefit from learning in clinical settings, and they benefit the mentor teachers, P-12 students, and school culture of which they are a part of. We believe that this impact is incalculable, but Osprey Impact, a platform through GivePulse that “tracks the collective impact, activities and engagement of both organizations and individuals within the community,” has a formula that measures the economic impact on the community. Dr. Justin Sipes, Director of the Center for Community-Based Learning, has had an integral role in connecting Osprey Impact to clinical practice.

In fall 2022, programs began a phased rollout of logging hours through Osprey Impact rather than the previous system, Watermark, to make public the collective impact our teacher candidates have had. By spring 2024, all teacher candidates across all programs and levels of clinical field experiences will be logging their hours through Osprey Impact.

Thus far, teacher candidates have entered over 15,000 hours, contributing to a community economic impact of over $440,000.

Substitute Teaching Pilot Initiative

The Substitute Teaching Pilot Initiative has continued to be a successful initiative in meeting three goals set at the launch of the initiative: 1) increase the pool of qualified substitute teachers, 2) provide more continuity of instruction for P-12 students in PDS and partner schools, and 3) maintain high-quality clinical preparation of teacher candidates. Roughly 15-30% of interns have participated in the initiative so far, which has allowed for nearly a quarter of final semester interns, or a total of 48 interns, to substitute teach across 19 schools in three counties at an average of 3.4 days per intern for a total of 164 days. From spring 2022 – spring 2023 (three semesters), 48 interns in Professional Development School and partner schools in Duval County Public Schools, Clay County District Schools, St. Johns County School District, and charter networks participated in the Substitute Teaching Pilot Initiative. The pilot was open to all final semester interns in all initial teacher licensure programs: Deaf Education, Elementary Education, Exceptional Student Education, Music Education, PreK-Primary Education, and Secondary Education.

Multiple stakeholders have expressed the benefits of the initiative – in particular, the continuity of learning of P-12 students and the interns’ opportunity to develop specific teaching skills. Because the initiative has seen much success and minimal risk, the initiative will continue into the fall 2023 semester.

Partnering for a Purpose

Elementary and Secondary Education RCFs Wildalynn Thomas (St. Johns County) and Roshanda Jones (River City Science Academy) co-taught in elementary field seminar II and III, providing a yearlong experience for their teacher candidates. Their collaborations led to new cross institutional and cross-district partnership professional learning for teacher candidates. They invited guest facilitators from River City Science Academy and Palm Valley Academy (SJCSD) to field seminars to cover several topics teacher candidates expressed interest in and that the RCFs recognized as a need for their teacher candidates, such as personal wellbeing. Wildalynn Thomas and Roshanda Jones even arranged for teacher candidates to have their professional photos taken as one final step before their internship in fall 2023.

Dr. Caroline Guardino, in collaboration with the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, hosted virtual mock interviews for seven practicum II students and eight Deaf Ed interns. The event began with a professional panel of district coordinators, recruiters, principals (including the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind), and school supervisors. Following the panel discussion, recruiters were placed in breakout rooms, while UNF Deaf Education teacher candidates visited each room for brief mock interviews. One month later, Dr. Guardino and Patti Palmer hosted a virtual job fair for the teacher candidates. The event drew over 10 school districts and agencies, in and out-of-state, with over 15 recruiters. Both events were a huge success for preparing our teacher candidates for the work force, as well as solidifying and strengthening relationships between the UNF Deaf Ed program and stakeholders.

Over the past year, UNF Music Education majors maintained strong and positive relationships with our partners in Clay, Duval, and St. Johns counties. Our students helped build middle school and high school ensembles (band, orchestra, and choir), as well as elementary music programs. They played a significant role in helping the program during Florida Music Performance Assessments (MPA), serving as conductors and assistants working with their mentor teachers. UNF Music education faculty members Dr. Tim Groulx and Dr. Song frequently provided music ensemble clinical sessions for K-12 students in Florida and established positive relationships with partner schools.

UNF Deaf Education with Dr. Jennifer Kilpatrick, once again, collaborated with Central Riverside Elementary School (DCPS) for UNF Deaf Education Reading Buddies in the fall semester.This year, the teacher candidates inquired through this program, collected data that showed their impact on student learning. In the spring, they continued their UNF Deaf Education Pen Pals program, partnering this year with teachers and students in Grades 2 – 5 at Florida School for the Deaf and Blind Deaf Elementary School. Their pen pals came to UNF for the Presidential Inauguration and a day of fun.

Dr. Nile Stanley, associate professor of literacy education, chaired a school assembly at Englewood Elementary (DCPS) where children and their teachers performed poetry, stories, and songs.

With support of the Holzendorf Urban Budget, Shaundricka Medlock led Grove Park Elementary (CCDS) through a collaborative book study to continue building a positive school climate.

hosted an Educational Panel and Inquiry Showcase for the Strategies for Student Success course in fall 2022. Panelists shared strategies for successful engagement in Emily Crossett (Academic Advisor), Drs. Adrien Malek-Lasater (Early Childhood Education), RCF Nikki Jackson

Teacher Candidate Mr. Tomi Shaw (Elementary), Teacher Candidate Christina Davis

Drs. Terrie Galanti and John White and RCF Renee Riley

Early Childhood PreK-Primary Teacher Candidates, Gabbie Cardosi, Alexie Hill, Sierra McCawley planned and implemented a school-wide grades K- 5 STEM day with Xavier in fall 2022.

Professional Learning For All

Professional Learning at Grove Park Elementary

Grove Park Elementary (CCDS) identified an area of professional learning through their school data. Through a collaborative effort involving Principal Wright, Shaundricka Medlock (RCF), the educators at Grove Park Elementary, and Drs. Baker and Lynch, professional learning sessions began around small group differentiation. Together they designed three sessions held on site at Grove Park Elementary. During each session, Grove Park educators shared authentic artifacts from their classrooms and engaged in small group and whole group discussions supported with research. Based on data and input from Grove Park educators, the three sessions were created to share strategies and discuss facets of differentiating small group instruction.

Elementary Jacksonville Teacher Residency (JTR) Residents Participate in School-Based Professional Learning

Elementary JTR undergraduate residents at San Jose Elementary (DCPS) participated in an instructional round during the spring semester. The instructional rounds format is a collaborative professional development approach for teachers that aims to improve the quality of instruction in the classroom. The interns worked together to observe and analyze classroom instruction. This process provided a valuable opportunity for the teacher candidates to identify effective practices, recognize areas of improvement, and learn from each other.

Learning to Teaching Multilingual Students

In the TESOL Methods and Curriculum course with Dr. Alice Jo, teacher candidates had extensive opportunities to work with multilingual students (MLL) with varying levels of English proficiency in Duval County, Duval public charter schools, and St. Johns County School District. This collaboration spanned 36 course-embedded hours and aimed to foster the development of teacher candidates' teaching abilities and meta-cognitive strategies to teach MLLs. Teacher candidates presented their comprehensive portfolios, showcasing the TESOL practices they implemented in clinical experiences.

Secondary Interns' Professional Development Plans

Drs. Brian Zoellner and Richard Chant led seminars in the fall and spring with Secondary interns to assist them in completing their Professional Development Plans (PDPs). For Secondary interns, the PDP process involves using their professional beliefs/commitments about teaching to identify gaps in their practice to develop a research question. Based on this research question, interns develop a literature review to help create a plan to address the gap in their practice. They then measure the impact of this plan. Projects included work to improve student literacy, increase student engagement and address the needs of all students.

Sharing Clinical Practice Research and Practices

National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) Annual Conference

The NAPDS conference brings together school and university partnerships from around the country and abroad annually to advance the education profession by providing leadership, advocacy, and support to sustain and advance Professional Development Schools as learning communities that improve student learning, prepare educators through clinical practice, provide reciprocal professional development, and conduct shared inquiries. This year’s conference took place Thursday, March 23 and Friday, March 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. The conference program included over 30 presentations from over 50 administrators, faculty, staff, and students in the UNF PDS and Partner School Network.

Presenters: Dr. Wendy Baker, Marilyn Barnwell, Isabella Birtolo, Amy Boyter, Maddy Brady, Dr. Rebecca West Burns, Alex Capobianco, Anthony Catamas, Dr. Kim Cheek, Dr. Rachelle Curcio, Joseph Diaz, Dr. Shaqwana Freeman-Green, Nancy Frias, Lauren Gibbs, Mallory Griffin, Dr. Elizabeth Hale, Dr. Katrina Hall, Kelly Harrell, Micheala Hewitt, Dr. David Hoppey, Valerie Ibanez, Nicholas Johnson, Jeania Jones, Roshanda Jones, Dr. Jennifer Kilpatrick, Meagan Lasoff, Dr. Megan Lynch, Dr. Adrien Malek-Lasater, Rebecca La Mance, Dari’onna May, Dr. Megan McMillan, Shaundricka Medlock, Jade Menendez, Rilencia Moore, Faith Nevin, Mariann Ocampo, Dr. Matthew Ohlson, Elizabeth Otterbein, Dr. Paul Parkison, MacKenzie Paternostro, Keith Poole, Dr. Deborah Reed, Dr. Raven Robinson-Wilson, Xavier Rozas, Terri Samson, Dr. Nile Stanley, Wildalynn Thomas, Stephen Thompson, Thomasena Thompson, John Luke Vega, Asher Verdi, Renee Walton, Stephanie Weathington, Suzette Wilhelm, Melissa Wright, and Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey.

The NAPDS Conference Committee also included several UNF and school partner representatives. Dr. Hale, Jessie Didier, Jade Yuen, Dr. Megan Lynch, and Dr. Rachelle Curcio played a large role in thoughtfully organizing the two-day conference and preconference. UNF student volunteers and teacher candidates, led by Jade Yuen, also volunteered their time to help coordinate a smoothrunning event. In addition to being on the NAPDS conference committee, Dr. Rachelle Curcio was responsible for leading the NAPDS Preconference Planning Committee. During the preconference, UNF and partner schools shared about their successful partnership with NAPDS attendees. After learning more about these partnerships, attendees enjoyed lunch and visited the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA).

Tiger Academy: Alex Capobianco, Jessie Didier, Dr. Elizabeth Hale

UNF Preschool: Dr. Adrien-Malek Lasater, Dr. Georgina David

Kings Trail Elementary and Jacksonville Teacher Residency: Jennifer Saoud, Dr. Rachelle Curcio

River City Science Academy: Roshanda Jones

This year’s Conference Give Back supported three local UNF partner schools, including Kings Trail Elementary (DCPS), Tiger Academy, and River City Science Academy, by providing donations for school supplies.

NAPDS Follow-up Think Tank

Clinical Practice and Educational Partnerships hosted a PDS Think Tank session as a follow up to the NAPDS annual conference. Fifteen school partners, three Resident Clinical Faculty, and three UNF faculty attended. San Jose Elementary JTR Clinical Residency Mentors, Stephanie Weathington, Leah Teuschel, Thomasena Thompson, and Amy Boyter gave a dynamic presentation at NAPDS titled “Burst That Bubble: Creating and Sustaining a Teacher-Led Professional Learning Community.” They shared how the group of lifelong learners create their own vertical learning community in grades K-3. They shared what they have learned as they began to bridge the reading gap between primary and intermediate grades through teacher reflection journals, standards alignment among grade levels, data collection and technology use. They were excited to brainstorm at the NAPDS Think Tank and create the next steps for their team. They look forward to continuing the work and sharing their learning at San Jose and other outlets.

Undergraduate Research Published in Pandion

UNF’s Exceptional Student Education faculty have mentored five students to publish their inquiry projects in Pandion: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas. Pandion is an online and print journal featuring the results of faculty-mentored and faculty-endorsed student research from all colleges and majors at the University of North Florida.Other ESE students have presented at NAPDS and the Florida Council for Exceptional Children Conference.

COEHS Faculty and Staff Represent UNF at the annual Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Conference

COEHS faculty, students and PDS (Professional Development Schools) partners represented UNF at the ATE (Association of Teacher Educators) 2023 Annual Meeting. ATE is the only national, individual membership organization devoted solely to the improvement of teacher education for school and university-based teacher educators.

Several UNF PDS and Partner School partners served on the ATE Robert J. Stevenson Lecture Panel, including Dr. Brandie Berry (DCPS), Dr. Jennifer Shepard (CCDS), Dr. Rudy Jamison (UNF), Caran Mullins (DCPS) and Easter Brown (Tiger Academy) on Monday, March 27. Dr. Diane YendolHoppey (UNF) graciously opened the panel with a few words.

Presenters from our UNF community included Dr. Wendy Baker, Dr. Carolyne Ali-Khan, Maria Beattie, Dr. Jamey Burns, Dr. Rebecca West Burns, Dr. Rachelle Curcio, Dr. Gigi Morales David, Dr. Katrina Hall, Katherine Herndon, Jeania Jones, Dr. Wanda Lastrapes, Dr. Megan Lynch, Dr. Adrien Malek-Lasater, Dr. Inger McGee, Dr. Raven Robinson-Wilson, Dr. Paul Parkison, Jennifer Saoud, Dr. Nile Stanley, Dr. Madalina Tanase, Robin Thomas, Dr. John White, and Dr. Hope (Bess) Wilson.

This year’s Conference Give Back supported Alfred I. duPont Middle School.

ATE's Inquiry Initiative

Drs. Wendy Baker, Shaqwana Freeman-Green, Katrina Hall, and Megan Lynch participated in the ATE Inquiry Initiative, a three-year collaborative inquiry for professional educators (scholars and practitioners) to collectively examine a common focus: closing the educational “opportunity gaps'' created by disparities within society. Their participation in the inquiry initiative is supported by the Holzendorf Urban Budget.

Clinical Practice Fellows

Shaundricka Medlock was invited into Clinical Practice Fellows, a community of school and university based teacher educators focused on centering clinical practice and developing schooluniversity partnerships within teacher education programs.

Fellows are selected through a competitive application process. Shaundricka Medlock joined Drs. Rebecca West Burns, Shelly Curcio, and Megan Lynch for the 2023 Clinical Practice Fellows Symposium.

National Association for Music Education and the Florida Music Educators Association

Dr. Tim Groulx and Dr. Julie Song have presented at multiple conferences including the National Association for Music Education. Under Drs. Groulx and Song’s supervision, students also actively participated and presented at the same conferences. One highlight was the annual Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) conference in Tampa in January 2023, where UNF music education had the largest institutional representation (14 presenters). FMEA’s Conference is one of the largest music education professional development events in the US, with more than 10,000 attendees.

Spotlight on Specialized Programs

Jacksonville Teacher Residency

This year, the Jacksonville Teacher Residency (JTR) welcomed Jennifer Saoud, professional development supervisor with Duval County Public Schools, as a boundary-spanning teacher educator and liaison between DCPS and UNF.

Jacksonville Teacher Residency, Professional Learning with Clinical Residency Mentors

DCPS, in collaboration with Dr. Rachelle Curcio and Dr. Wanda Lastrapes, held quarterly professional learning opportunities for the JTR Clinical Residency Mentors (CRM). The professional learning time was a space for the team to check in, provide support with JTR deliverables and requirements, and to facilitate ‘bite-sized’ professional learning opportunties. During the ‘bite sized’ professional learning, topics such as defining the co-teaching role, identifying spaces for coaching, mentoring on the move, providing coaching stems to support coaching conversations, and identifying specific areas of growth for our teacher candidates were discussed.The year ended with a wrap up and reflection day to reflect on the year and plan for another cohort of JTR residents. The JTR team looks forward to continuing the professional learning with the new group of CRMs in the fall!

Secondary JTR Teacher Residents and Mentor Teachers Present and Lead Service Projects

RCFs Renee Riley and Robin Renelus co-presented with Lake Shore Middle School Duo, Michaela Hewitt (JTR Teacher Resident) and Valerie Ibanez (JTR Mentor Teacher), at NAPDS on “A Classroom Ran by Two: Facing Biases and Relationship Building.” Michaela Hewitt and Valerie Ibanez, along with Dylan Sheppard, another JTR Teacher Resident at Lake Shore Middle, began a book club at school with students to spread the love of literacy as part of their service project this year.

A team from Alfred I. duPont Middle School (DCPS) including Principal Marilyn Barnwell and former JTR resident Joseph Diaz (with pre-conference support from RCF Robin Renelus) co-facilitated a session at NAPDS highlighting one teacher’s journey from the Jacksonville Teacher Residency Program to full time teaching in a comprehensive Title I middle school. Principal Barwell collaborated and brainstormed with others who attended NAPDS Think Tank about ways to continue supporting both teacher candidates and the teachers at her school site.

JTR MAT Residents at Kings Trail Elementary

The 2022-2023 school year was a busy one at Kings Trail Elementary (KTE). This year, Kings Trail hosted UNF Jacksonville Teacher Residents during their year-long residency experience. Throughout the year, residents were immersed in the life of teaching alongside their mentors, and Kings Trail welcomed each JTR Resident into the KTE family. From team planning to Trunk or Treat to afterschool tutoring, the JTR Residents and KTE faculty were engaged in high-quality teaching, learning, and teacher preparation. Thank you, Kings Trail Elementary, for your partnership in teacher education!

New Department of Education Teacher Quality Partnership Grant: Project PREP (Partnering to Renew Educator Pipeline)

In October 2022, UNF and Clay County District Schools launched Project PREP. PREP is a systemic approach to building an educator pathway to enhance the recruitment, preparation, induction and retention of teachers and teacher leaders across the teacher pipeline. To meet these goals, PREP has five components that extend from a high school teaching academy to school and district leadership professional learning. Under Dr. Rachelle Curcio's direction as principal investigator, PREP and its five components are led in collaboration with UNF and Clay County faculty.

PREP supports the COEHS’s high school teaching academy in Clay County high schools, including Orange Park Senior High School. PREP supports innovations in the elementary education program through a yearlong professional internship. Through PREP, clinical practice will not end with teacher preparation. PREP collaborates with Clay County’s professional development team and UNF teacher education faculty to seamlessly blend Clay’s induction program with PREP’s resources for three years of early career professional learning through coaching and mentorship for early career teachers. PREP is also supporting teacher, school, and district leadership by collaborating on graduate-level coursework tailored to the needs of Clay County through the MEd in Elementary Education, MEd in Educational Leadership, and the EdD in Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Leadership.

Faculty and Teacher Candidate Inquiry Community

Drs. Rebecca West Burns, Megan Lynch, and Wendy Baker were awarded a High Impact Practice grant through the UNF Office of Faculty Excellence to facilitate an inquiry community that brings faculty and students together to engage in shared inquiry “In what ways can inquiry be systematically and developmentally appropriately integrated into clinical field experiences?” The group has been meeting weekly to support each other to engage in collective and parallel inquiries. RCFs Kerri Bell, Shaundricka Medlock, and Wildalynn Thomas, along with Drs. Jennifer Kilpatrick and Katrina Hall are inquiring into their clinical educator practices and looking for impact on teacher candidate learning. Teacher candidates in the inquiry community are providing invaluable insights into their experiences learning inquiry and how they would like to see it integrated in clinical practice at UNF. The Teacher candidates represent Deaf Education, Elementary Education, and PreK-Primary Education: Chris Blackwell, Jordan Clark, Alex Jenkins, Shelby Manley, Jessica Panaguiton, Corbyn Smith, and Lexxie Sorensen.

Urban Education Scholars Program

The Urban Education Scholars Program is now in its fourth year at UNF. This year, a number of scholars engaged in collaborative inquiry with their professors and in their clinical experiences. Dari’onna May (Freshman, Elementary Education) presented with Dr. Raven Robinson-Wilson on the experiences of a teacher educator and teacher candidates' engagement in a semester-long collaborative inquiry focused on applied self-regulatory practices. Lydia Lee (Senior, PreK-Primary) presented with Dr. Katrina Hall and faculty and school leaders from Global Outreach Charter Academy (Duval charter) as an extension of the Teaching Beginning Reading and Writing course with integrated clinical experiences taught onsite at GOCA in fall 2023. Secondary Education teacher candidates Mariann Ocampo, Jade Menendez, and Rilencia Moore met with Dr. Megan Lynch to reflect on their early clinical experiences in high schools across Duval County Public Schools and shared their reflections at NAPDS. To’Mar Jones, Dakota Jones, and Rafael Perezdesilva participated on panels for the Jacksonville Public Education Fund. For soon-to-be teacher candidates in the Urban Education Scholars Program, Dr. Terrie Galanti provided math tutoring weekly to prepare scholars for the General Knowledge Exam, the first part of the Florida Teacher Certification Exam.

Eight Urban Education scholars graduated in the 2022-2023 academic year:

Elementary Education: Wrene Wright, Jazmen Green, and Abigail Gomez (JTR)

Exceptional Student Education: Sydney Williams (JTR)

PreK-Primary Education: Abigail Gomez, Lissie Crespo (JTR), Alexis Prince, and Lydia Lee

Awards and Recognition

Rising Ospreys

Rising Ospreys are UNF COEHS' best and brightest graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in their internship and show tremendous potential as an emerging educator and future leader in education. Because of their potential, Rising Ospreys are extended the opportunity to continue their education at UNF COEHS by paying for their first master's course in one of our graduate certificates and/or Master of Education degrees in the COEHS! In fall 2022, Madison Parent (Secondary English Education) accepted this opportunity and so far, spring 2023 graduates Faith Nevin (Elementary Education), Enola (Hollyn) Taylor (Secondary Social Studies Education), and Melanie Bell (Secondary Math Education) have accepted this opportunity as well. Special congratulations to Naomi Sien (Exceptional Student Education) who will become the first Rising Osprey to earn a Master of Education degree in the COEHS!

Individual Awards

Many faculty and students engaged in clinical practice at UNF were the recipients of various awards this year. Here’s a list of the ones we know about!

Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey, UNF College of Education and Human Services professor, has been awarded the prestigious Hans C Olsen Distinguished Teacher Educator Award at this year’s Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Conference

Megan Robichaud (sophomore) from the UNF Music Education program was selected as President-Elect of the Collegiate State Board to represent all music education college students at the Florida Music Education Association. She will serve as president-elect for one year and then become president for one year.

Ms. Huyen Le, mentor teacher in Exceptional Student Education at Atlantic Coast High School (DCPS) won the Marva Collins Diversity Award from the Division for Learning Disabilities at the Council for Exceptional Children conference this year.

Lily Miler and Sydney Williams (Exceptional Student Education) were named the UNF February Undergraduate Researchers of the Month by the Office of Undergraduate Research.

In fall 2022, Dr. Tim Groulx, Music Education, received the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award from Academic and Student Affairs at UNF.

Allison Staves, mentor teacher at Kings Trail Elementary (DCPS), was awarded Elementary Education Outstanding Graduate Award.

Riva Yatt and Lydia Lee were recognized as 2023 Outstanding Early Childhood Undergraduate Students.

Dr. Hale, associate professor of literacy education, received the first-ever National Association for Professional Development Schools Exemplary PK20 Boundary Spanner Award

Julia Mayeshiba, Jacksonville Teacher Residency (cohort 5) alum and mentor teacher, was named the 2023 Duval County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.

Dear Partners,

I have some bittersweet news to share. This summer I will be transitioning out of my role as Director of Clinical Practice and Educational Partnerships as I have accepted the position of Dean of the College of Education at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. This new position allows me to move closer to family while continuing to advocate and support education, teacher education, and school-university partnerships. Working with you to sustain, deepen, and innovate our partnerships has been truly incredible. I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at UNF and will miss working with all of you However, I know that clinical practice and partnerships at UNF are in good hands with Dr. Wendy Baker and Ms. Jeania Jones I hope you will join me in congratulating them on their new positions

It is my great pleasure to announce that Dr. Wendy Baker, current Clinical Program Manager, has accepted the nomination of Interim Director of Clinical Practices for the UNF College of Education. Dr. Baker has over two decades of educationalexperienceoriginating fromtheelementaryclassroom, district leadership, boundary-spanning roles, and higher education. She has extensive experience in teacher preparation programs, school-university partnerships, and supervision which undergirds her research and teaching. At the national level, she is a past president of the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) and has engaged in the Association of Teacher Education (ATE) Inquiry Initiative. At the state level, she is affiliated with Florida Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (FACTE) and theirClinicalExperience Special Interest Group.

While serving as Clinical Program Manager, she collaboratedwithUNF faculty and staffacross all six teacher preparation programsas well asschool and districtpartners,ledand co-facilitatedprofessional learningformultiple stakeholders,managedthe organizational components ofall earlyclinicalexperienceand internship,andcollaboratedwith the UNF College of EducationDirector of Accreditation and Assessment. She can be reached at wendy.baker@unf.edu.

In addition to Dr. Baker, I am also delighted to share that Ms. Jeania Jones has accepted the position of Coordinator of Clinical Practices for the UNF College of Education. Ms. Jones is an Elementary Co-Curriculum Area Director, an instructor, a Professional Development School’s Faculty in Residence, and a clinical supervisor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum at the University of North Florida. Prior to UNF, she was a teacher, mentor, literacy lead teacher, grade level chair, and mentor teacher in Duval County Public Schools. Jeania has been recognized as an American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education Holmes Scholar and a 2022 recipient of the Vicki Cornett Student Caring Award.

She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a cognate in Leadership and her research focuses on how both background experiences and teacher prep experiences contribute to and influence teacher candidates' Culturally Responsive Teaching Self Efficacy for teaching Black elementary students. She can be reached at j.n.jones@unf.edu.

Your partner in education - always,

RebeccaWestBurns

Dr. Rebcca West Burns

Bill Herrold Endowed Professor Director of Clinical Practice and Educational Partnerships College of Education and Human Services University of North Florida

A special thank you to Dr. Megan Lynch, Postdoctoral Research Fellow on Project PREP, and Sophie Raleigh, Coordinator for Communications, for compiling, editing, and putting this report together. Thank you to everyone who contributed by sharing all their incredible work in clinical practice over the 2022-2023 academic year.

In partnership with UNF, the following Duval County Public Schools supported observation hours for the Introduction to the Teaching Profession Courses. These schools provided an invaluable learning opportunity for students interested in entering the field of education.

Crown Point Elementary School

Englewood Elementary School

Normandy Village ElementarySchool

Rutledge H. Pearson Elementary School

Southside Estates Elementary School

Twin Lakes Academy ElementarySchool

Woodland Acres Elementary School

Highlands Middle School

Joseph Stilwell Middle School

Lake Shore Middle School

Landmark Middle School

Edward H. White High School

Englewood High School

Sandalwood High School

Wolfson High School