Purpose: This article highlights the recipient of the Exemplary PDS Award given by the National Association of School-University Partnerships. In 2024, the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson College of Education (WCE) PDS School-University Partnership with Isaac Bear Early College (IBEC) and Southeast Area Technical (SEA-Tech) High…

Purpose: There is a growing interest in showcasing what building school capacity looks like empirically. Although there has been considerable focus on school reforms globally, the actual impact of such attempts on building school capacity, particularly in a non-Western context, remains less explored. This paper aims to illustrate the process of…

We describe the contours of one leadership preparation partnership between a university and urban high school district, to demonstrate the affordances that have allowed the partnership to process and weather challenges. Critically, we describe the actual work of collaboration, presenting one extended example of learning-in-action. As such, the…

Purpose: This article presents a professional development partnership which has grown together through collaboration resulting in increased capacity to engage mentor teachers (MTs), nurture teacher candidates (TCs), partner in university coursework and professional development, innovate teacher preparation practices and place new teachers with a…

This edited book showcases the lessons, successes and challenges of starting and growing a fully bilingual school. Reflecting on the first 10 years of Dos Puentes Elementary School in New York City, it explores the evolution of the school through its four founding pillars: (1) "bilingüismo, biliteracidad y multiculturalismo," (2)…

University partnerships with public schools are an innovative opportunity to marry research and practice. One such endeavor was the Heinz Fellows Program at the Center for Urban Education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. The Heinz Fellows Program existed at the intersection of community engagement, public school praxis,…

Collaboration between universities and schools has been emphasised by both governments and within educational development research in the Nordic countries. However, educational research has tended to focus on the practitioners' perspectives and experiences, i.e., researchers and teachers. Our intention is to contribute to the field with research…

Purpose: Annually, the National Association of School-University Partnerships (NASUP) awards individuals with the Exemplary PK-20 Boundary Spanner Award. The award goes to a university-based or a PK-12 school or school district-based individual who "innovates the systems or practices to enhance the learning of all of those involved in the…

Purpose: The National Association for School-University Partnerships ([NASUP], formerly known as the National Association for Professional Development Schools [NAPDS]), annually awards the Exemplary PDS Partnership Award to partnerships who exemplify many or all of the NAPDS Nine Essentials (NAPDS, 2021). This article provides an overview of the…

Purpose: School-university partnerships are the core of effective teacher preparation programs, and central to this model are the classroom teachers who mentor preservice teachers into the profession. This article describes an innovative collaboration that transcends institutional boundaries, operating in a hybrid space, aimed at supporting…

Universities have the potential to bring significant assets to community school development, and community school models align with emerging priorities in higher education, including shifts toward community engagement. University-assisted community schools (UACS) present an ideal place for these mutual interests to be met, although barriers to…

Purpose: School-university partnerships are important in teacher education to ensure PK-12 preservice teachers gain teaching experience prior to becoming teachers of record. Drawing on Ball and Cohen's (1999) concept of "practice-based teacher education," this three-year qualitative study examines the results of an intentionally…

This article shares our university center's efforts to act as a boundary spanner supporting colleagues across our university to contribute collectively to more equitable educational opportunities for local K-12 students and their teachers. We focus here on the ongoing critical reflection and collaboration needed to tap such university resources to…

Purpose: School-university partnerships (SUPs) probe a range of P12 challenges and interests, with teacher residencies being chief among them. Because historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have impressive track records (Hill-Jackson, 2017) and knowhow (Marchitello & Trinidad, 2019; Petchauer & Mawhinney, 2017) in preparing…

Scholars deem university partnerships with public schools as an innovative opportunity to marry research and practice. In part because they can support developing and implementing evidence-based interventions that improve school culture, academics, and community participation. However, what is less discussed are the barriers and challenges of…