The Westfield Professional Development School Network
By
Nitza M. Hidalgo, Ed.D & David Raker, Ed.D.
Westfield State College
Education Department
2
Westfield State College has a long history of working with the Westfield Public
Schools. Mostly this relationship has consisted of the college providing professional
development opportunities and requesting space in K-12 classrooms for pre-service
student teachers. This seemingly one-sided relationship has weathered both good and bad
times, but in the end could only move the institutions ahead so far. The Westfield
Professional Development School Network (WPDS) was, therefore, established six years
ago when it became clear that a new and more collaborative relationship was needed in
order to improve the work being done both at the college and in the elementary schools of
the district. Identification of this need was a first step, but as we were to learn, the real
work began when we tried to realize a vision of a truly collaborative network.
In an attempt to realize this vision a call was sent out to the various elementary
schools in the Westfield Public Schools for interested institutions (this was important as
we did not want this to become a mandated program). After several organizational
meetings, five Westfield elementary schools (Abner Gibbs, Franklin Avenue, Highland,
Moseley & Southampton Road) saw the benefits of the proposed network and joined with
the Education Department of the college to establish WPDS. What followed over the
course of the year was the building of the institutional infrastructure that would provide a
strong foundation for future cooperation and success.
An infrastructure developed during the first year of the WPDS. For example, a
leadership structure developed that included faculty from both WSC and Westfield Public
Schools. Currently these positions are filled by Professor Nitza Hidalgo of the Education
Department and Peg Burke, a Kindergarten teacher at Moseley Elementary School. In
addition, each of the elementary schools was assigned a WSC faculty liaison to work
3
with teachers and principals to design and implement school projects that reflect the
needs of the individual school. Each school also designated a liaison from its practitioners
to facilitate dissemination of information and to represent the viewpoints of the school’s
faculty. Furthermore, we understood the significance of having both administration
officials involved in the organization structure. The WPDS Advisory Board includes the
Chair of the Education Department, the Dean of Education at WSC, the Director of
WPDS and the Director of Personnel at Westfield Public Schools. This group meets
periodically to discuss policy and financial issues. This multifaceted administrative
structure, along with shared vision statements and common goals, provided a strong
foundation for the work to be accomplished over the coming years.
As the WPDS Network developed, individual participants changed, projects
evolved, and the organization has been institutionalized. This dynamic nature, as it has
turned out, has become an essential component for success as it allows each school team
to determine the types of projects they would like to address in any given year. For
example, one school might focus on developing specialized reading programs, while
another school might decide to highlight the multicultural nature of their student body.
This type of flexibility is a true strength of the WPDS as each school team dictates their
own yearly activities. In a day of increased mandated standards set from afar and
imposed on teachers and learners, the WPDS concept is a reform effort that runs contrary
to this precedent and suggests that schools are better suited to determine the types of
learning difficulties that exist in their own classrooms and, therefore, their own direction.
Although the decentralized nature of the WPDS and the flexibility that comes
from such a structure is immensely important as described above, there are also a number
4
of essential components that provide continuity and shared purpose. Our organization
holds monthly, formalized conversations during the academic year to create
communication linkages and to build a sense of common purpose among participants.
The meetings are held after school at the College. Refreshments and snacks are served.
On average, from twenty to twenty-five practitioners, principals and WSC faculty attend
regularly. All Network planning takes place during these monthly meetings. At these
meetings, we develop common goals and set organizational policies. The WPDS
participants also discuss progress on individual school projects.
In the spring WPDS participants plan and set the agenda for our one-day
conference held each May. Last year over forty participants attended the WPDS
Conference, including the superintendent of Westfield Public Schools and WSC
administrators. Each school team prepares a presentation (posters, Power Point or video)
to document the year’s progress of their projects. The conference highlights individual
school project outcomes.
An ongoing component of WPDS is what we call “co-teaching” activities.
Practitioners become co-teachers in college curriculum-based courses conducting lectures
throughout the academic year. The workshops and lessons are drawn from the unique
strengths of each teacher. These activities stem from the recognition that teachers are an
important source of knowledge in the formation of professional development and in the
support of pre-service teacher education. In the past, practitioners have conducted panels
on classroom management strategies, the special education process from a teacher’s
perspective, guided reading practice, the creation of learning centers and the Dibels
assessment system, to named just a few of the varied topics. Practitioners receive an
5
honorarium for their time and WSC undergraduates and faculty have access to the real
classroom experience and expertise teachers bring.
A reciprocal arrangement is another essential component of the WPDS. WSC
faculty members teach graduate-level courses at each elementary school in the Network.
The courses taught vary according to the expertise of the faculty member and the needs
of the individual school community. The courses offered change each year. Past courses
include: Teacher Action Research, The Responsive Classroom, Multiple Intelligences &
Diversity, and Technology in the Classroom. On-site courses are popular because
professors teach at the elementary school, the practitioners pay a nominal fee and they
receive graduate credits.
Finally, a good example of how the WPDS has impacted both the elementary
schools and the WSC education programs is the Integrated Year-Long Internship
Program. Traditionally, WSC practicum students completed a 16 week-long student
teaching program in an assigned school. In most cases, the WSC student had little to no
relationship with the school or teacher prior to the beginning of the 16 weeks. In contrast,
education students may now elect an internship alternative. The internship exposes
students to authentic learning environments by placing students in WPDS classrooms for
an entire year (Rasch & Finch, 1996). In addition, the WPDS Internship incorporates
earlier, longer and closely-monitored clinical experiences. The internship provides
supervision during the pre-practicum phase and sustained supervision during practicum
(Hayes & Wetherill, 1996). The supervisor follows the intern throughout the academic
year. Student interns begin their practicum semester in the fall and continue in the same
classroom for their student teaching practicum in the spring. WSC faculty and Westfield
6
public school teachers alike hail this new model as a true success. Ongoing qualitative
research attests to the success of the structured internship. The WPDS Internship has redefined how student teachers are trained at Westfield State College.
Combined, these essential components of the WPDS have been recognized by the
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) as being excellent
and beneficial to the teaching and learning in both Westfield Public Schools and the
college. WPDS was only one of two such organizations in the college to be highlighted
by the NCATE review team.
Over the six-year life of the Westfield Professional Development School Network
we have learned a great deal. It has become clear that all groups must have an equal say
in both the establishment of a vision and the institutional structure. In addition, we have
seen the importance of building trust and two-way communication linkages. Simply put,
the success of the WPDS Network demonstrates that the professional development
process is more effective when close collaborative ties are cultivated between public
schools and higher education institutions (Holmes Group, 1995). All of this leads to
enriched professional development opportunities for teachers and enhanced field
experience settings for pre-service students. Such an approach simultaneously revitalizes
K-6 teaching and learning as well as pre-service education.
7
References
Hayes, H. A., & Wetherill, K. S. (1996, April). A new vision for schools, supervision,
and teacher education: The professional development system and Model Clinical
Teaching Project. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational
Research Association, New York.
Holmes Group. (1995). Tomorrow’s schools of education. East Lansing, MI: Author.
Rasch, K., & Finch, M.E. (1996). Who are our partners? Reconceptualizing teaching and
stewardship. In T. Warren (Ed.), Partnerships in teacher education (pp. 135-142).
Lanham, MD: University Press of America.