Reimagining School Relationships With Higher Education

Working with universities in its region, an intermediate education agency in Michigan builds initiatives to develop new teachers and amplify growth of veterans

One of the pressing issues we face as school district leaders is the shortage of teaching and support staff — especially staff who mirror the diverse identities of our community.

Addressing that issue in our district presents an opportunity for me also to look for ways to connect and strengthen the teaching profession as a whole, address the diverse and unique needs of students, and empower teachers in ways that bring joy, continuous learning and deep connection within the schools in our 46,000-student educational service organization. The latter serves nine public school districts and public school academies in and around Ann Arbor, Mich.

These complex challenges present us with an incredible opportunity to rethink our systems and relationships with one another and with our higher education partners.

During the 25 years Washtenaw County has worked with the higher education institutions in the area, we have reimagined our relationship to strengthen and transform the teaching profession in four areas: (1) developing and certifying teachers, (2) supporting teachers as their careers unfold, (3) structuring and organizing our inquiry around improving the profession through research, and (4) maximizing the power and opportunity of intermediary systems to bridge, support and transform the partnerships at a systemic scale.

Developing and Certifying Teachers

Expanded low- or no-cost pathways to enter the profession, high-quality professional learning, a supported on-ramping program and a sense of connection and belonging within a school community are essential if we want to strengthen the teaching profession.

Recognizing that neither school districts nor higher education institutions can do this on their own, Wash­tenaw County schools and our partner higher education institutions together developed several new approaches to teacher certification, including a path to certification for our paraprofessionals and an apprenticeship program for aspiring teachers.

Paraprofessional to teacher certification. Through a survey, we learned that more than 25 percent of the approximately 1,200 paraprofessionals in our county were interested in becoming special education teachers if they could keep their jobs, learn at night and have their tuition covered. Partnering with Eastern Michigan University, our educational service agency and nine local school districts created the Paraprofessional-to-Teacher Certification Pilot Program, a no-cost pathway to a bachelor’s degree with teaching certification.

This program, made possible by a special waiver granted by the Michigan Department of Education, covers most of the costs of teacher preparation courses at Eastern Michigan University, including books and fees, for dedicated paraprofessionals already working in area schools. The pilot program aims to minimize the barriers by providing evening classes centrally located in the county and a dedicated program mentor. Upon completing the program — typically, it takes three to three and a half years — paraprofessionals will be certified special education teachers, particularly for students with emotional impairments or learning disabilities.

Since establishing the program in 2019, we have been overwhelmed with interest, easily filling the program slots for our first four cohorts. This fall, as we graduate the first cohort of 21 certified special education teachers, we will not only address our teacher shortage but fill the positions with teachers who are committed to our community, students and local schools.

These teachers also mirror our community demographics from a racial standpoint because they are from the community itself and bring tremendous diversity to our special education teaching ranks. They already have a network of colleagues they know well through the certification program and will start their careers with more experience and confidence than a typical first-year teacher.

This experience taught us that we didn’t lack people interested in teaching. Rather, we lacked options for earning a teaching certificate.

Apprentice teachers. In Michigan, 48 of our educational service agencies and the 300-plus school districts they serve formed a consortium and partnered with 10 colleges and universities to create a U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program called Talent Together. This program creates new opportunities for certification for teachers at all education levels, especially in the areas of special education, early childhood elementary and secondary math and science.

To be recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor, the program must meet federal apprenticeship guidelines, which include at least one year of practice in the classroom and a full salary at a competitive wage. School districts pay the teacher apprentices salaries and place them in supported roles that develop their skills and promote their understanding of working with children.

Progressive supports include one-on-one tutoring that expands to small-group instructional support and eventually co-teaching and then teaching with coaching support. This on-the-job learning approach provides an opportunity for experienced instructional staff within the district to support apprenticing teachers in a progressive and coordinated manner.

The universities associated with the program, which were chosen through an RFP process, provide online courses leading to degrees and certification, reduced tuition costs and, for some programs, on-the-ground and coordinated support to the apprentice teacher in conjunction with the district. They are also adjusting assignments to take the classroom experience into account.

Talent Together is poised to enroll its first cohort of 1,185 aspiring teachers this fall.

Redefining Professional Learning and Development

The attention we give to developing aspiring teachers should be afforded to all teachers over the lifespan of their careers. While grow-your-own programs such as teacher apprenticeships create opportunities for districts to acquire teachers, partnerships with higher education also offer a tremendous opportunity to expand and develop existing teachers and staff.

The beginnings of such systems are evident in Michigan in the form of professional learning networks and transformative coalitions.

Professional learning networks. In Michigan, these networks spanning districts and schools are designed as communities of practice to encourage deep critical and supportive connections among professionals in specific focus areas. The Washtenaw Intermediate School District established several learning networks, including the Study of Early Literacy and the Adaptive Leadership Network for aspiring leaders.

For these networks, university professors work with our district coordinators to co-design sessions on topics that resonate for educators and align deeply with research. The expertise of university faculty is invaluable in developing the high-quality tools and resources used by educators. The rigorous teacher action research, supported by professors, is highly useful not only for teacher reflection and growth but also for documenting the impact of the new practices.

Transformational coalitions. A coalition model provides the power of a learning network with the collective strength of a jointly formed and owned collaborative. The learning shapes and evolves the educators and the education system, as well as research and university engagement.

The Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition involves K-12 and higher education educators, researchers, visionaries and advocates working together to create inclusive, place-based communities of learning. Coalition members support teachers through professional learning communities, classroom coaching and coordination with school administrators to transform learning and create positive change.

Through this regional coalition, we’ve focused more on community-based learning opportunities and creating lessons that tie directly to real-world problems that interest our students. Not only are students learning about their community, their projects are making a difference in their community.

Mutually Evolving Research and Practice

Research relationships typically involve a researcher contacting a school district and asking for access to a group of students or teachers to study the researcher’s area of interest.

We must transform that relationship into one where the lines of inquiry are centered on the needs of schools, staff and students. The process must help districts and schools reach their aspirations, address the questions they face in practice and be contextualized to their students and communities.

The focus must be on the disciplined approaches of research to not only identify questions but find and evaluate solutions in an ongoing and iterative way. This, in turn, develops our institutional practices and those of the researchers as we learn, adapt and grow through the inquiry process. There are two examples outside of Washtenaw County that I admire.

Research consortiums. The UChicago Consortium on School Research is a beautiful example of the systemic impact of a true research and practice partnership. This partnership between University of Chicago researchers and Chicago Public Schools was designed to support more equitable outcomes for students through research that informs and assesses policy and practice.

District leaders work with researchers to identify key areas of practice needing improvement, engage in an impressive cycle of inquiry and experimentation and use the research results to make decisions. This model has been replicated successfully in a number of large cities throughout the country.

Evolving partnerships. The School at Marygrove is a partnership between the University of Michigan’s Marsal Family School of Education, Detroit Public Schools Community District and several community partners. The self-described “pre-natal-to-career” public school is the site of the nation’s first teaching school, providing a three-year residency program for certified novice teachers.

The project has transformed the university’s relationship with K-12 education by forging a stronger connection between teacher training and the classroom. It also provides evidence-based proof-of-concept of what a partnership between a university, school district and community can do to transform public education.

A Call to Action

As we develop, equip and support our educators and continually evolve through reimagined research partnerships, sustainability and systemic access become especially important. While a large district can easily forge a partnership with a university, it is nearly impossible for small districts to do that on their own. The educational service agencies scattered across 40 states are well-positioned to serve as intermediary agencies to coordinate across systems.

Once the key district, educational service agency and higher education partners are identified, the organizational structures of formalized consortiums, coalitions and co-constructed multiyear partnership agreements facilitate the relationships; support a clear and shared vision; clarify decision-making; provide ways to navigate the growth, learning and transformation that occurs over time; and address areas that may cause conflict among the parties.

Done well, we can balance the power dynamics between the institutions to create a space of true vision, inquiry and, ultimately, transformation in service to students, educators and the education profession. If we lean into our strengths and on each other where we have weaknesses as systems, I see some incredible opportunities. n

Naomi Norman is superintendent of Washtenaw Intermediate School District in Ann Arbor, Mich. Twitter: @EdInnovates