The Leading Edge: How Collaboration Between Charter Schools and a University is Changing Paradigms Matthew Ohlson, Ph.D.

UNF faculty member, Dr. Matthew Ohlson, and the CAMP Osprey Mentoring Program has partnered with numerous charter school partners throughout Florida to increase teaching and learning outcomes.

C.A.M.P. Osprey: A Partnership between UNF and Florida Charter Schools Collegiate students participate in a comprehensive leadership development program Collegiate students mentor K-12 students on the charter school campus with leadership as the key theme Increased accountability and authentic leadership understanding Collegiate mentors and K-12 mentees participate in immersive UNF campus events- demonstrating the leadership skills needed to become college and career ready

UNF and Tiger Academy Mentors and Mentees completing an activity from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Curriculum UNF students then teach these leadership skills to elementary and middle school students. The UNF students need to show a strong understanding of the leadership concepts in order to teach them to their L12 mentee

Mentoring Sessions The Handshake Dressed for Success Beyond the core leadership curriculum, mentoring activities include “soft skill” development

Tiger Academy and UNF: Fitness and Leadership Partnership with UNF Women’s Soccer

River City Science Academy

Mentoring Sessions on the RCSA Campus

River City Science Academy Leadership Day on the UNF Campus

Virtual Mentoring partnership with Aventura City of Excellence Charter School (ACES), Miami-Dade County Public Schools

CAMP Osprey: Partnership Outcomes Increased Attendance Increased GPA Decreased Discipline Referrals Awards from American Graduate Champion http://www.wjct.org/education/american-graduate/

Putnam Edge and Dr. Ohlson Job-embedded coaching to support the growth and improvement of this charter school in Putnam County (FL) Focus on creating a collaborative school culture and instructional practices that infuse the e3 teaching and learning system: Deeper Knowledge Collaboration Engagement

Best Practices Cross-Curricular Collaboration The use of frequent/ informal assessments during instruction time to monitor progress Student led presentations using a variety of technology tools and presentation formats A clear focus on developing student relationships and understanding diverse learning styles Student-led, problem solving activities with a focus on career-readiness skills

Partnership Outcomes Received AdvancEd Accreditation Increased an entire school grade in one year

What Next? In small groups, determine the resources/activities that a partnership with UNF can support: Campus visits Mentoring Leadership Coaching Teaching and Learning Support Hiring pipeline with UNF College of Education and Human Services

Please contact me to become our next partner! Matthew.ohlson@unf.edu Twitter: MatthewOhlson1