Our coalition has already demonstrated in a variety of ways our strong commitment to collaborating with one another. Building upon a solid foundation, we will strengthen the links between SOE, CAS, and K-12 faculties and substantially increase interactions among teachers, administrators, and higher education faculty, We have established eight objectives that we anticipate will lead to the accomplishment of our goals and can be directly linked to specific pre-existing and new project components:

OBJECTIVES	Existing Components	New Components
1. Increase the number of students whose career goal is to teach in urban high-need schools	Joint recruitment efforts between CAS and SOE	STAR Scholarships - 8 per year
2. Improve prospective teachers' subject area knowledge and pedagogical knowledge	Dual major required (in CAS & SOE) i.e., Conceptual framework that focuses on the integration of knowledge across disciplines Learning community	New learning communities Curriculum reform Summer Institutes
3. Ensure that prospective teachers are well prepared for the realities of the classroom	Acclaimed field experience program 3 PDSs	Improved field experiences Addition of 5 PDSs PACES
4. Prepare prospective teachers to work effectively with culturally and linguistically diverse students and families	Focus on diversity in programs Diverse field experiences TESOL endorsement	Enhanced field experiences in PDSs Emphasis on sociolinguistics, working with families, TESOL
5. Prepare prospective teachers to use technology as a tool for integrative teaching and learning	Technology focus in programs Field experiences using technology	Electronic portfolios Miami Museum of Science internship and training Project SUCCEED Website
6. Provide support for education graduates during first three years of teaching	Informal support network	SUPPORT Network (with Peer Partners, university faculty, graduate assistants)
7. Increase professional development in research-based practices for K-12 teachers	Professional development activities in PDSs and other schools	Summer institutes Enhanced professional development activities
8. Enhance K-12 teachers' professional growth	Involvement in PDSs Adjunct university faculty Clinical supervisors Involvement in Holmes Partnership/UNITE	New PDSs and Centers PACES/electronic portfolios Serve as Peer Partners Increase involvement in state and national organizations

New Components Through Project Succeed

STAR Scholarship Program

This scholarship program will provide full tuition to 8 undergraduate students who will be non-traditional students (e.g., paraprofessionals currently working at high-need schools), or students from urban high-need schools, Our goal is to attract and retain university students who share the goal of teaching in urban high-need schools and can commit to staying at such schools after graduation.

New Learning Communities

Learning communities will feature increased team-teaching across departments and programs, making explicit the links between content knowledge and pedagogical skills. Special sections of liberal arts courses will be designated for prospective teachers and will link with SOE.

Collaborative Curriculum Reform

CAS and SOE will look closely at the curriculum in undergraduate programs for prospective teachers. Curriculum reform efforts will focus on assuring that the connections between subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are explicit. The Miami Museum of Science will provide a science-rich environment for prospective teachers to hone their teaching skills by serving as paid interns in the museum's summer camp.

New Professional Development Schools

We are greatly expanding our PDS program from a current base of three schools to a total of eight schools. These schools will play an extensive role in prospective teacher education and participate in professional development activities. Graduate assistants for CAS and SOE will be assigned to our PDS's.

Professional Development Centers

We are creating Professional Development Centers at select PDS sites for the purposes of: (a) providing support for K-12 teachers at new PDSs through Peer Partners; (b) assisting with the piloting of the MDCPS Professional Assessment and Comprehensive Evaluation System (PACES) program; and (c) mentoring new teachers through a SUPPORT Network.

Peer Partners. A cadre of experienced PDS classroom teachers and administrators will assist with the support of new PDSs as Peer Partners, serve as members of the Project SUCCEED Steering Committee and/or the Professional Development School Consortium, and assist in the teaching of our university classes.

PACES. A classroom-based, research-grounded professional development system that includes portfolio development, direct classroom observation, individual and collaborative comprehensive planning, self-assessments, and multiple assessments by multiple assessors. It gives priority to self-reflection, collaboration, and self-responsibility for professional growth.

Electronic Portfolios. Prospective and K-12 teachers will develop CD-ROMs that are modeled after the portfolios required of applicants for National Board Certification. These portfolios will include videotaped segments of actual classroom instruction, examples of students' work products, and reflective analyses of teaching. Prospective and K-1 2 teachers will attend training in how to develop electronic portfolios at the Miami Museum of Science.

A SUPPORT Network will provide extensive assistance for new teachers after they have graduated from our programs. The SUPPORT Network will involve M-DCPS master teachers as Peer Partners, administrators, SOE and CAS faculty members, and graduate assistants.

Professional Development

Professional development with a focus on improving K-12 instruction and enhancing student outcomes will be provided on site at our PDSs and at UM through Summer Institutes. Each of our PDSs has targeted different areas in which they would like to receive professional development (e.g., Reading, FCAT Preparation, Cultural & Linguistic Diversity, and Working with Families). We expect that the focus of our professional development efforts at each school will change over the five years of the project based on annual assessments of each school?s changing needs.

New Summer Institutes will be conducted collaboratively by CAS, SOE, M-DCPS, and, in some cases, the Miami Museum of Science (e.g., in Earth Science and Environmental Geology, Theater, African American Studies, English, Mathematics, and Reading).

Integrating Technology Across the Curriculum will be a focus of professional development for prospective and practicing teachers through coursework at UM, the Miami Museum of Science, electronic portfolios, a "paperless" classroom at one of our PDSs, and distance learning at another.

Institutional Mission and Context

The University of Miami is the largest private institution of higher education in the southeastern United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UM is composed of 14 colleges and schools on four campuses, with nearly 14,000 degree-seeking students in approximately 110 undergraduate, 95 masters, 55 doctoral, and 2 professional areas of study. The 1,850 full-time faculty includes Guggenheim Fellows, Fulbright Scholars, and National Science Foundation recipients. In the last fiscal year, UM received more than $161 million in grants. In a recent National Science Foundation listing, UM was placed 39^th in the nation among academic recipients of federal research and training grants and 21^st out of private universities. The School of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, offers curricula leading to the degrees of B.S.Ed., M.S.Ed., Specialist, and Ph.D. Programs focus on Elementary Education, Secondary Education, TESOL, TEFL, Reading and Learning Disabilities, Emotional Handicaps and Learning Disabilities, Early Childhood Special Education, and Pre-K Primary Education. The College of Arts and Sciences offers curricula leading to the degrees of B.S., B.A., B.H.S., B.F.A., B.L.A., M.A., M.S., MFA, and Ph.D Programs focus on Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Ad, Art History, Biology, English, Geography, Geological Studies, History, Marine and Atmospheric Science, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Sociology, Theatre Arts, and Women's Studies-Social Science.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the fourth largest and fastest growing urban school system in the nation. M-DCPS is a leader in urban education, having been involved in systemic school reform since the late 1980s. M-DCPS serves approximately 350,000 culturally and linguistically diverse students in grades pre-K through 12th. M-DCPS and UM have developed a national model for joint relations between a university system and a public school system. The Dean of the School of Education and the Superintendent of M-DCPS established a contractual agreement that has included over 25 cooperative agreements in the last 5 years.

The Miami Museum of Science was founded in 1949 and today serves nearly 300,000 visitors annually, including 100,000 students through in-school, outreach, and focused programming. The Museum of Science will draw upon over a decade of experience developing and disseminating training and materials for preparing K-1 2 teachers in the use of technology as an instructional tool. The Museum of Science has recently been named an official affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute.

Key Partnership Representatives

Janette Klingner, Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of Miami
Daniel Pals, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Miami
Nelson Daz, Deputy Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Judy Brown, Vice President, Program Development and Research, Miami Museum of Science

For more information contact:

Dr. Janette Klingner, Project SUCCEED Director
Phone: (305) 284-5937; Fax:(305) 284-3003
E-mail: jkklingner@aol.com

Address:

University of Miami School of Education P.C. Box 248065 Coral Gables, FL 33124-2040

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