From Year-Long Internship to PDS: Working Together to Build Better Teachers

The partnership between Kennesaw State University and Marietta Middle School, a 2012 recipient of the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) "Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement," began as a year-long internship (YLI) program for teacher candidates in middle grades education at KSU. During the pilot year, the goals included the following four objectives: 1) identify excellent classroom teachers willing to mentor a pre-service teacher (intern) for the entire academic year; 2) critique, guide, and mentor interns using best practice unit design; 3) create a model for interns to observe and critique each others' teaching; and 4) develop this partnership into a PDS relationship using the "Nine Essentials" of NAPDS (NAPDS, 2008). As the YLI developed into a formalized PDS, the goal was to create a Professional Learning Community (PLC) that would enhance the learning of both in-service and pre-service teachers. Co-teaching, goal setting, and communication became the foci of professional development sessions for all participants. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)