Penn State Partners for Success at an Urban Grade School
Located at the intersection of Howard and Cambria in North Philadelphia, Isaac A. Sheppard Elementary School is "a kind of safe haven" for its 330 students, according to Kyle Peck, associate dean for Outreach, Technology and International Studies at Penn State's College of Education. In the heart of a poverty-stricken neighborhood where "no one goes out after dark," explained Peck, Sheppard has earned the local community's respect by giving its students shelter from the grim realities of daily life in a high-crime environment. And now, through a new Penn State program called the Urban Teaching Collaborative, the school is offering new opportunities for the entire community.
Spearheaded in fall 2005, the Urban Teaching Collaborative was developed to provide support to Sheppard's staff, a dedicated group of educators struggling to overcome extreme challenges in one of the district's poorest neighborhoods, where 94 percent of the students are Puerto Rican and many live in homes where no adults speak or read English. In this setting, making or exceeding Pennsylvania state goals for annual progress is a daunting task.
But by using a highly inclusive strategy, forging a vibrant partnership with staff at Sheppard and members of the local community, Penn State is lending the school a helping hand.
In fall 2006, "after a year of building trust in the community and learning what kind of assistance would be appropriate," said Peck, the first phase of the program was launched with grant money from the Penn State Outreach Thematic Initiatives Fund (TIF). Kicking off as a professional development partnership, the program placed 10 Penn State education students at Sheppard to complete their final two field experience internships. Their extra help made a real impact. "Sheppard's principal, Jim Otto likes to say, there's nothing like having an intern in your classroom to make you bring your 'A-game' every day," noted Peck. At a time when many future teachers are intimidated at the prospect of working at urban schools, the program has been a real eye-opener for the Penn State teaching candidates involved.
"I have watched as our suburban intern volunteers overcame their own anxieties about teaching in an urban classroom," said Dan Thompson, assistant professor of education at Penn State. Thompson, who supervised 10 interns during the 2006-2007 academic year, is thrilled with the program, and will supervise another cohort of interns this year. "This is the most exciting initiative I have been associated with in my 15 years of public school teaching and 13 years in higher education," he enthused, adding "Sheppard's outstanding and caring faculty, along with Mr. James Otto's tenacious, thoughtful, and courageous leadership is transforming this school at a pace that makes my head swim."
Since the program's fall 2006 launch, The Urban Teaching Collaborative has expanded to include many other components -- all built on the principle of partnership. A family literacy partnership has engaged Penn State's Goodling Institute for Family Literacy in the community; an after school partnership has employed students from local Penn State campuses to tutor, start a gardening club and facilitate spelling bee competitions; an ESL (English as a second language) partnership will soon engage Penn State scholars from the Liberal Arts and Education Colleges to aid the community; and a behavioral issues partnership has begun to connect Sheppard's staff to Penn State special education professors. Key to making all this possible is a technology partnership, which has placed video camera-equipped laptops in the school. This allows live video conferencing to take place between Sheppard and Penn State campuses.
"For a long time Penn State has wanted to get involved with urban schools, "Peck explained, "but the big challenge has been the 200 miles between us. Using technology, we are able to overcome that obstacle."
The Urban Teaching Collaborative continues to expand in new directions. Awarded a Pennsylvania Department of Education grant this August, in partnership with Apple computer, the collaborative is now beginning to place 150 Internet-connected computers in the homes of Sheppard families -- opening doors of opportunity for entire families.
Principal Otto couldn't be more pleased. "This program came to us from the gods!" exclaimed the 20-year veteran of the Philadelphia School district. "The partnership has given me access to resources, people, and opportunities that I could never have dreamed, and some possible avenues to overcoming some of the endemic problems facing our children, our school and our community."
This press release courtesy of Penn State's Department of Public Information
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