A Professional Development School
is a partnership between a school and an institution of higher learning.
Professional Development Schools do more than
train university teacher candidates; they are collaborations to provide exemplary
educational settings, consistent vision, and ongoing active cooperation of all
participants in the partnership. Major organizations agree that professional development
schools must accomplish four basic goals. Although the wording used varies, they concur
that such schools all must:
- Provide a clinical setting for pre-service education
- Engage in professional development for participants
- Promote and conduct inquiry that advances knowledge of schooling
- Provide an exemplary education for students from pre-K through college
In a PDS, the university faculty and administration and the
school staff and administration become a community that shares mutual responsibility for
providing high-quality instruction to classroom students.
