The Urban Teacher Partnership A Collaboration of Metropolitan State College of Denver Denver Public Schools Mayor’s Office for Education and Children

Purpose of UTP To prepare middle and high school math, science, social studies and English teachers for professional service in urban, hard-to-staff schools.

Evolution of UTP UTP is currently funded through a $9.5 million grant from the federal Teacher Quality Enhancement (TQE) Partnership Program Metro State and Denver Public Schools were awarded the 5-year grant in 2004; we are in the final fully-funded year of the support

Key Components of UTP Secondary Education –The program serves Metro students preparing to teach in middle and high schools Four Content Areas –the content areas of math, science, social studies and English Curriculum Redesign –Curriculum in the content areas were redesigned at both the college and the district addressing teacher preparation and on-going professional development

Components of UTP Field Experience in Urban Schools –Students in the program complete 180 hours of field experience prior to student teaching in 8 designated Urban Apprentice Schools (UAS) within the Denver Public Schools Hill MSMartin Luther KingEast HS Merrill MSBruce RandolphNorth HS Lake MSThomas Jefferson HS

Components of UTP UAS Site Coordinators –Each UAS has designated a Site Coordinator to support student field placements, including student teaching –Act as liaison with UTP students, cooperating teachers, supervising professors, and UTP program staff –Identify and provide opportunities to acquaint UTP students to the school, its policies, teachers and culture

Components of UTP UTP Field Placement Coordinator –UTP Field Placement Coordinator serves as an information conduit between the program leadership and site coordinators in the eight schools and between Metro professors and students and DPS teachers in UAS sites –Field Placement Coordinator helps coordinate activities and works with program leaders to resolve problems

Components of UTP Recruitment into UTP –Complete application in Metro’s Secondary Teacher Education Program –Major in math, science, social studies and English –Submit a one-page essay indicating an interest and commitment to urban schools and students

Components of UTP Scholarship Support in High Demand Subjects –UTP students in math and science $1,000 per semester –UTP students in all majors who complete set of designated ELA courses $525 per 3 credit course –Enrolled full-time –Hold a 3.0 cumulative GPA

Components of UTP Supplemental Resources –Priority placements in Urban Apprentice Schools for field experiences and student teaching –Special seminars and workshops focused on urban teachers –Opportunities for paid tutoring positions –Complementary registration at the Great Teachers for Our City Schools National Summit

Components of UTP Great Teachers for Our City Schools: National Summit on Recruiting, Preparing and Retaining Quality Urban Teachers –May 2008 and April 2009 –3 rd Annual in Spring 2010 –National Experts/Urban Education Partnership Models

UTP Outcomes Between Fall 2005 and Spring 2009, 270 students entered the program, including: 38 science, 36 math, 102 English and 94 social studies 113 scholarships were awarded since program inception 26 UTP students have been hired by DPS

Lessons Learned from the Current Grant We were spread too broadly across the district Lesson: What if we narrow the geographic focus? We were focused only on secondary education Lesson: Could we develop a P-16 strategy that includes all levels of student learning – early learning, elementary, secondary and college? We used a traditional model of curriculum and clinical practice Lesson: Are there models that prepare teachers for the specific needs of students in urban schools? UTP students experiences in the school were limited to classrooms Lesson: Engage the broader community inside and outside of school UTP program is not well known across the region and state Lesson: Connect with and learn from other urban partnerships within the region and across the country

-From Project to System- Center for Urban Education Mission Statement CUE believes that through genuine partnership, higher education, urban schools and local communities together can build a coherent system that will address multiple and complex needs of urban school students

Components of CUE Zone for Student Achievement ~ P-16 Urban Teacher Partnership ~ Preparing Teachers for Urban Schools Community-based Resources and Support Network Development and Expansion

Components of CUE Zone for Student Achievement ~ P-16 The Zone will be made up of a community of high needs schools located in a geographically defined area that support the learning needs of children – pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle, high school, college degree and workforce

Components of CUE Urban Teacher Partnership ~ Preparing Quality Urban Teachers Residency Urban-focused Curricula Induction, Mentoring, Professional Development Support Instead of studying about differing cultures, UTP students will study from within the cultural settings of the schools and their surrounding communities.

Components of CUE Community-Based Resources and Support CUE will fully integrate the resources and support of community-based organizations that provide services to students in the targeted high-needs schools.

Components of CUE Network Development and Expansion National: Great Teachers for Our City Schools Statewide: Engage urban partnerships across the Denver Metro and Colorado region Local: Departments, programs and interested faculty and staff from across Metro State College

UTP Contact Information Esther M. Rodriguez Director and Principal Investigator Urban Teacher Partnership