School of Education

Professional Development Schools

Professional Development Schools (PDS) are schools that have joined with a university to accomplish educational goals that are mutually beneficial to each. A PDS is a collaboratively planned and implemented partnership for the academic and clinical preparation of teacher candidates and the continuous professional development of teachers. The design of a PDS partnership is based on outcomes for the K-12 students in the school with collaborative staff development and pre-service teacher preparation centered on those outcomes.  These schools are clinical sites where cohorts of teacher candidates participate in structured learning experiences as part of their professional education programs.

There is a formal agreement between the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the participating school district. These agreements include the following purposes:

• Exemplary instruction and other educational experiences for K-12 students
• Preparation of teachers and other school based educators
• Professional development of teachers and other school based educators
• Applied inquiry designed to improve practice

Established partnership school sites

The purpose of this clinical field experience partnership is to work together to provide quality learning experiences for PK-16 learners in the partnership school and teacher candidates enrolled in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) Teacher Education Programs. 

Benefits 

• Partnership school learners will benefit from the presence of teacher candidates who will provide additional ongoing support in the classroom. 

• UW-La Crosse benefits from having a consistent partnership site, staffed by school and university educators who are knowledgeable about UW-La Crosse programs and skilled in supervising teacher candidates. 

• The partnership school and the university will both benefit from shared teaching and learning opportunities focused on current curriculum, standards, and instructional strategies. 

• The teaching profession benefits from new teachers who have been prepared and nurtured in an authentic environment of professional practice focused on meeting the needs of learners.