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Dr. Lou Ella Burmeister, a 1966 Ph.D. graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Education, and Professor Emerita of Education at the University of Texas El Paso,has provided a generous gift to the Madison Professional Development School Partnership that will fund supplementary instruction in reading and literacy education for U.W.-Madison teacher education students working in the Professional Development Schools.

This instruction, in the form of workshops and seminars, will be provided by two to four "Burmeister Scholars" who will be selected each year from among the staff in the four Professional Development Schools. The selection of these individuals for a one-year period will be made by a committee composed of representatives from all four schools together with the building principals. The "Burmeister Scholars" will be selected because of their expertise in reading and literacy education and will receive an honorarium for their work with teacher education students. They will also be honored each year at the annual Cooperating Teacher Dinner. This program is one of a series of efforts underway within the Professional Development Schools to enable teachers to play a more active role in the pre-service teacher education program at U.W.- Madison

Madison Representatives Attend National Conference

The National Professional Development School conference provided an opportunity for the Madison representatives to interact with representatives from other PDS partnerships around the country.

A six-member team from Madison's Professional Development School Partnership attended the National Holmes Partnership PDS meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of October. Thoreau Principal Dr. Margaret Planner and IRT Nancy Booth attended as representatives from the schools; Joyce Murphy, a teacher at Cherokee, attended as a representative of Madison Teachers Incorporated; Professor Ken Zeichner and School of Education Associate Dean Jack Kean represented the U.W.-Madison; and Mary Ramberg, Director of Teaching and Learning in the Madison Metropolitan School District, attended as a representative from the district office.

The theme of the Pittsburgh conference was assessment. Madison area PDS representatives had the opportunity to visit innovative schools in the Pittsburgh area to observe, share and discuss methods and issues of assessment. The National Professional Development School conference provided an opportunity for the Madison representatives to interact with representatives from other PDS partnerships around the country. The conference also created a forum for discussing issues of education, teacher education and education reform within Professional Development Schools at regional and national levels.

Once the representatives returned from this conference they were able to share with their colleagues at the district, schools and university the experience and information relating to the national agenda for the PDS network, as well as insights and new information particularly relevant to each job site.

In January, another national meeting for the 1998-99 year is planned to take place in Boston. This national meeting will be held in conjunction with the general meeting of the Holmes Partnership. For the January meeting and future meetings, the Madison PDS will send a different team of representatives, enabling national-level participation for as many PDS members as possible.

Linking to CIMC and Technology

Access to the university library system is now available free
of charge to all staff members of Wisconsin schools by obtaining a courtesy card at the Memorial Library card registration desk.

For more information about these resources:

call the CIMC (608-263-4751),

or hook up to their home page:

cimc.soemadison.wisc.edu

The CIMC, Center for Instructional Materials and Computing (previously the IMC at U.W.-Madison), is joining with the PDS network to reach into the schools to support teachers and students of education by increasing their access to instructional materials. The change in name is indicative of the more comprehensive role that the CIMC is now able to play in the access, production, and presentation of instructional materials.

Jo Ann Carr, the CIMC director, met with the IRTs, and Jessica Doyle, Michele Genor, and Ken Zeichner during a planning meeting to share how the CIMC can support and create stronger links between the university and the public schools. As well as sharing the current ways in which the CIMC can help to support school staff, Ms. Carr also sparked interest in creating a program tailored specifically to the needs of staff at PDS sites. Suggestions included forming a study group to learn about the available technologies and how to bring them into classrooms, and applying for a UW system grant to create and support a PDS - CIMC technology program, were mentioned as possibilities for the future.

At work in the CIMC

Access to the university library system is now available free of charge to all staff members of Wisconsin schools by obtaining a courtesy card at the Memorial Library card registration desk.

Proof of employment in a Wisconsin school district and identification with a current address are required. The cards are available for use all year but must be renewed in June for the next school year. This courtesy card provides school staff with access to all materials for use within the CIMC and check-out privileges for the majority of materials.

The CIMC collections consist of the professional stacks; instructional and supplementary materials including textbooks, software, audiovisual kits, fiction and nonfiction trade books; reference materials and journals. The CIMC also has available special collections that can be used by school staff such as the ERIC documents collection, the Kraus curriculum development library, a math manipulative lab, web links to many education-related sites, and Badger Link, which provides full-text database for PK-12 resources.

With the addition of the new computer center into the IMC, many more services are now available to school staff. Extensive access to new instructional technologies from the Internet to digital cameras and computer presentations brings the center up to date. One of the CIMC goals of linking with the PDS community is to foster greater cooperation with the schools as they work towards achieving the DPI Information and Technology standards. The CIMC offers, and can arrange, workshops for school staff to explore the new technologies that are now available to help strengthen PK-12, pre-service and in-service teaching and learning. If interested in getting together a study group or course contact your school's IRT, and at Cherokee Jessica Doyle.

SHAPE Links UW Student Tutors with Children at PDS Sites

The S.H.A.P.E. tutoring program was initiated in 1996 by the Civil Rights Defense Coalition (CRDC), a student organization, which voiced its concern to U.W.-Madison Chancellor David Ward about the small number of students of color at the university and proposed strategies to improve this.

The tutors work for 2 to 8 hours a week in the same classroom or school program, where they get to know the children, the teachers and the school community.

The PDS partnership has helped to establish effective long-term working relationships with the schools and the University School of Education. Professor Marianne Bloch explained that having a long-term relationship with schools and contact people in the schools is an important factor in working on new cooperative programs. Bloch, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, is the coordinator of S.H.A.P.E. (Students Helping in the Advancement of Public Education), a pilot tutoring project.

The S.H.A.P.E. tutoring program was initiated in 1996 by the Civil Rights Defense Coalition (CRDC), a student organization, which voiced its concern to U.W.-Madison Chancellor David Ward about the small number of students of color at the university and proposed strategies to improve this. Chancellor Ward and the university governance formally endorsed the CRDC proposal and involved the School of Education, specifically the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, as a major supporter of the tutoring aspect of the proposal. The overall goal of the S.H.A.P.E. Tutoring program is to create a long-term relationship between the U.W.-Madison and students of color in Madison's public schools, and provide assistance in order for these students to develop and sustain the high levels of academic achievement that will allow them to succeed at the university in the future.

SHAPE volunteer Monique Cox works with
Midvale Elementary first-grader Vincent Carey on his writing.

This year, the Mary and Ted Kellner family of Milwaukee, took an interest in the program (a similar program exists with the Milwaukee public schools and U.W.-Milwaukee) and have provided funds for the next three years and for a program evaluation.

Schools receiving S.H.A.P.E. tutors meet the following criteria: they belong to a feeder group that currently runs from K-8, are part of the existing PDS partnership, and have high populations of students that are currently underrepresented at the U.W.-Madison. There are plans to extend this feeder system with the inclusion of a high school in the future; thus S.H.A.P.E. will be providing student tutors for public school children in grades K-12. The use of a feeder system of schools meets one recognized criterion for effective tutoring programs, that of providing support that is continuous and familiar to the students, and a program goal of building a long-term relationship with cohorts of students.

Education Students at PDS Sites:
What it Means to Become Involved in a PDS Community

Finding a good match between students and cooperating teachers is an important aspect of the PDS partnership.

To further track their professional growth, all education students must compile and complete teaching portfolios representing their growth and accomplishments.

The Thoreau-Cherokee PDS
Students of education who are selected to take part in the Thoreau-Cherokee PDS agree to become part of the community for an extended period of time. These students, who are working towards either their 1-6 or 1- 9 certification, complete all three of their school-based experiences in these PDS sites. They work as a cohort to support each other and to share ideas during weekly seminars and the school days. The cohort arrangement encourages the development of a continuous community of learning, where the experiences of education students from year to year can be shared with students entering the PDS community. This community is composed of more than just the students of education, however; it includes cooperating teachers and the children in the classes, school-based supervisors, the schools' principals, other teachers in the school, support staff and parents. To take part in a PDS, students of education commit to becoming long-term school community members, responsible for more than just the demands of a single classroom.

The Students' Placements
After the education students are selected to take part in the PDS they are placed in classes that fit with the university's requirements and the school's resources. The on-site supervisors at the schools can make placements that will best meet the needs of the students and the teachers at the schools. Finding a good match between students and cooperating teachers is an important aspect of the PDS partnership. This year in the Thoreau-Cherokee PDS there are twelve U.W.-Madison students of education. Three of these students are in their final semester in the PDS, completing their student teaching placements. Another three education students are involved in their second practicum experience, in the Math, Science, and Social Studies areas. These practicum students are in the schools for nine weeks for three mornings a week. New to the Thoreau-Cherokee PDS this year are six education students beginning their school-based experience with their Reading/Language Arts practicum. Also this year Jennifer Preston at Thoreau is serving for the first time as a cooperating teacher to a practicum student. These twelve students are supported and supervised by on-site supervisors Nancy Booth and Michele Genor. The students' cooperating teachers work daily with them on planning, teaching, and assessing classroom learning. However, the entire staff of both Cherokee and Thoreau work to encourage and support the students as they learn about the roles and responsibilities of the teaching profession.

The Student Teaching Seminar
The students, Michele, and Nancy meet as a group for their seminars on Fridays from 11:15 to 12:45. The seminar site rotates between Cherokee and Thoreau, so contact is maintained with both schools for all the students during each placement. This also makes it possible for the staff in the schools to share their expertise, experience and learning with the students during the seminars with the least disruption to their day. The students of education generated a list of possible seminar topics for the year, which Michele and Nancy grouped under larger themes and issues, in order not to diminish the complexity of teaching by reducing everything into parts. The first theme of community, the supervisors explained, helps to draw the new practicum students into, and understand, their PDS community. This theme is elaborated on in seminar and explored by the students through a community-based project.

Second year practicum student Karen Vieth introduces herself to the seminar and to Thoreau principal Dr. Margaret Planner. The students were asked to bring several items that represent something important about themselves and how these shaped who they are as a person and a future teacher.

Throughout the year, Nancy and Michele provide supplementary readings to the students for the seminar based upon the needs and requests of the students. The students themselves participate in the creation of the list by suggesting readings for the group. The staff in the PDS site may also suggest readings for the seminar based upon issues of the schools' community. All students are expected to keep a response journal during their school placements. Nancy and Michele stress the role of the journal as a place for the students to express their ideas, frustrations, and celebrations, as they track their own professional growth in teaching.

To further track their professional growth, all education students must compile and complete teaching portfolios representing their growth and accomplishments. The students use the U.W. teaching standards and set goals for themselves that are documented in their portfolios. The process of compiling the portfolios helps the students gain awareness of their development as teachers. The completed portfolios are presented to their seminar as a way to demonstrate and celebrate how the students of education feel they have achieved the standards. The selection and presentation of the portfolios creates a reflective component, as the students must articulate their learning accomplishments and set goals for their own continuing development as teachers.

Professional Development Programs
that Expand Learning
As members of the Thoreau-Cherokee PDS community, the education students have opportunities to take part in school-based professional development. The students join their cooperating teachers at staff meetings where they learn about school programs, some of which they are expected to help implement in the classroom. This ability to take part in school professional opportunities not only provides the students with expanded learning opportunities, but also helps them to understand the full professional life of in-service teachers who continue with their own learning and development. Some of the programs that are taking place at the Thoreau-Cherokee Professional Development Schools are described below.

Nan Youngerman, a cooperating teacher at Cherokee Middle School, has worked with Susan Wray, a graduate student in the School of Education Dean's Office, to set up a "First Class" on-line discussion system. The program is being piloted at Cherokee and Thoreau as a way for cooperating teachers and other teachers in the schools to raise issues regarding their role in preparing future teachers.

At Cherokee a new literacy program for the middle grades is being implemented. The Cherokee Grade 6 Literacy Project brings in community volunteers and SHAPE tutors to read with and to sixth-grade students. By being part of the school community education students gain firsthand experience with new school initiatives, and community-based programs, and see how teachers work with community volunteers to benefit the children in their classes.

Also at Cherokee, a conversational Spanish course for the staff is taking place. This course was open to teachers, education students and staff who wanted to learn the language in order to improve their communication skills with members of the Thoreau-Cherokee community. The course is taught by Marianna DeGrass, who is on staff at Cherokee. The class takes place at Cherokee on Tuesdays and emphasizes the idea of teachers and students learning together to improve learning for all.

student teachers at thoreau
The education students involved in the
Thoreau-Cherokee PDS along with Nancy Booth,
Michele Genor and Ken Zeichner

A course on the Gateways coaching model of literacy is taking place at Thoreau, taught by Cindy Gleason. This literacy model emphasizes balanced literacy for kindergarten through second-grade learners. Thoreau is the host site for this program every other Tuesday afternoon. The course is also open to teacher education students at Thoreau. Thoreau is also piloting a model for improving student writing, "6 Traits Analytical Scoring." As part of the pilot program the school is hosting a course on using the model for developing writing skills in students. The course is held on Wednesday afternoons. Teacher education students at Thoreau gain experience with this writing model as part of the school professional development program and as it is implemented in the classrooms.

Learning and Teaching Together
When students of education become part of a Professional Development School, they not only experience classroom-based learning on the part of the children in the class; they are expected to take part in a learning community. The link between being a learner and being a teacher is explored both in theory and in practice at PDS sites. Students of education are held responsible for their own learning in the same way as teachers in the schools. The students of education in a PDS site observe over their three school-based experiences how teacher-initiated programs are conceptualized and developed, how school-based programs are monitored and adjusted to better meet the needs of the community they serve, and how outside programs are introduced, learned and implemented in classrooms. It would be difficult for students to complete their school-based experiences at the Thoreau-Cherokee PDS and believe that they have finished learning.

Teachers and Education Students Share in the Process of Change

...another benefit of the PDS partnership during the reform process is that the students
of education are involved in school-based staff development.

Student teacher Rebecca Brown individualizes instruction for first-grader Isis Bernard. Small class size provides Rebecca with the time to concentrate on the learning needs of each child and to practice with Midvale's Literacy Model

U.W.-Madison education students working at PDS sites not only gain experience as classroom teachers; but they also become involved in the process of education reform. The Professional Development School partnership is one overarching reform, however U.W. Education students are also involved in specific reforms at both the school and the university level.

School Reform
The cohort of 18 education students in the Midvale-Lincoln PDS site work along with the school staff as they continue with the Accelerated Schools program, and to explore the Literacy Learning Model. These students are also involved with the progressive implementation of the SAGE grant the schools received from the state. The benefits of being involved in large-scale school reforms within the supportive and continuous environment of the PDS partnership were discussed by the student teachers at Midvale and Midvale cooperating teacher Rita Kehl.

Abby Weinkauf, Rebecca Brown, Julie Peterson and Betsy Roble are all student teaching in K-1 classrooms at Midvale. As a result of the SAGE grant, each class has fewer than 15 children, and all of the student teachers are working with some of the same children from their practicum placements last year. The combined effect of the small class size and their PDS placements, the student teachers believe, has allowed them to focus on how individual children learn on a daily basis, and how they learn over time in school.

Rita Kehl explained that small classes have made it possible for the students to really experience teaching and planning for individualized instruction. This experience, Rita elaborated, results in a change in how class room management is viewed, from "how do I keep these kids together," to "what do I need for this child so he or she can learn." She sees the combination of the small class size and multiple placements in the same school as a powerful experience for preparing students of education. She also enjoys seeing the education students development and growth in confidence over the three semesters.

The School District's Perspective

...the PDS partnership benefits the district through the respect it shows for teachers.

Mary Ramberg, the Teaching and Learning Coordinator for the Madison Metropolitan School District, spoke about her involvement with the Professional Development Schools. Mary Ramberg said the PDS partnership is creating a complete community of learners including the schools, university and district.

Mary felt the PDS partnership benefits the district through the respect it shows for teachers. The communication created between the PDS sites and the university about pre-service teachers and what they need to know to develop as teachers has lead to discussions about in-service teachers and what they need to continue their professional development. This communication link creates new possibilities for discussing learning and education across the broad education community. Ideas such as the use of portfolios can be discussed as they relate to pre-service teachers' development, in-service teachers' professional development and children's learning and development. The PDS partnership brings together educators who can share their experiences with a reform, learn more through discussion of the reform, and share how the reform impacts teaching and learning.

The involvement in the national Holmes Partnership also benefits the district. The UNITE program, Urban Network to Improve Teacher Education, of the Holmes partnership, Mary explained, will involve the district at the PDS sites through new district-based projects linked to this national network.

The Madison Metropolitan School District welcomes their involvement and the involvement of Madison Teacher's Incorporated, the U.W.-Madison, and the four school sites in this national partnership. Mary believes that through this partnership Madison's schools and teachers, current and future, are strengthened.

The Barrio Project

During the past summer a group of teachers from Lincoln and Cherokee were involved in the Windows on the World/Sin Fronteras Summer Institute that involved teachers from four other Madison schools and is part of a two-year integrated arts and education project entitled "Sin Fronteras: Building Bridges Between Wisconsin and Mesoamerica." The course was coordinated by William Ney from the U.W.-Madison Latin American and Iberian Studies program and brought together resources and support from the U.W.-Madison, the Madison Children's Museum and the Madison Metropolitan School District. Following the summer session the teachers and staff from the six schools were asked to put forth a proposal from their schools based on a school's area of interest in Mesoamerica (which includes Mexico and Central America). The designated Barrio schools, the U.W.-Madison and the Madison Children's Museum will work collaboratively on these projects with each developing programming activities including workshops and all school performances in addition to creating mini-museums based upon themes related to Mesoamerica.

Lincoln art teacher, Katherine Goray, provided information about the overall project and Lincoln's accepted proposal; Cherokee is currently working on their proposal. Katherine explained that based upon each school's theme, interested teachers and their classes will construct a mini-museum that will travel to different schools and in May of 2000, all six mini-museums will be brought together at the Madison Children's Museum for public display.

Katherine discussed Lincoln's project which includes building a variety of curriculum initiatives to integrate Central American studies into classrooms. It will also bring guest artists, musicians and speakers to the school. Next semester Lincoln will begin with performances by some of these guests. Katherine outlined how the Lincoln project will involve the entire school by working at three different levels. This way individual teachers can determine how involved they will be. These levels include:

1) participation in performances at the school,

2) participation in performances and working on curricular changes to incorporate more Central American studies into the classroom and,

3) participation in both 1 and 2 and working on the mini-museum.

Katherine further commented the Barrio project was seeking to work with local groups; building bridges to the Central American community within Madison. She said the school is looking for help with their project. She asked that any one interested contact her, Katherine Goray, at Lincoln if they wanted more information or would like to volunteer time, resources or expertise. She hopes to keep the other PDS sites updated about this project and further share Lincoln's experience with them.

News Briefs

Madison Teachers Incorporated has joined with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Madison Metropolitan School District as a partner in the Madison Professional Development Schools Partnership.

Mentoring Study Group for CooperatingTeachers
This semester, Midvale hosted a mentoring and supervision study group. Midvale experienced an increase in staff as a result of the SAGE grant, and the course was geared toward new teachers who would like to be able to participate in the PDS program next semester as cooperating teachers. There were six teachers involved in the course, which was facilitated by Ken Zeichner and Mary Kay Johnson and was similar to the course that took place at Cherokee for teachers at all four PDS sites last spring.

The Madison PDS planning group. The IRTs, Nancy Booth, Cookie Miller, and Mary Kay Johnson along with Jessica Doyle, Michele Genor and Ken Zeichner meet regularly to discuss how the partnership can best serve its members.

MTI Joins the Partnership
Madison Teachers Incorporated has joined with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Madison Metropolitan School District as a partner in the Madison Professional Development Schools Partnership. Joyce Murphy attended the Pittsburgh conference as the MTI representative and was be able to meet with other union representatives from around the country.

Future Seminars and Study Groups
Plans for seminars and/or study groups for staff at PDS sites have been made based upon interest expressed at the four schools. The courses that will be available next semester include:

•A continuation of the Conversational Spanish at Cherokee

• A new beginning level Spanish course at Midvale

• A Technology course using CIMC resources and school resources

An additional course on literacy in the upper elementary grades is also currently being developed. More information about these course will be sent to all four schools soon.

For more information about the Madison PDS:

UW Contact............ Ken Zeichner

Lincoln................... Cookie Miller

Midvale............Mary Kay Johnson

Thoreau.................. Nancy Booth

Cherokee.............. Jessica Doyle

UW Supervisor..... Michele Genor

The links in this newsletter may
be out of date. For current links,
click here.

This newsletter is for and about the Madison Professional Development School Partnership. It documents new and continuing developments of this program but does not cover the full range of the program or the experiences of individuals. Your comments, suggestions, and article submissions for this publication would be appreciated. If there is an area introduced here that you would like to see more detailed, or if you would like to share your experiences working in a PDS, please contact Links. Send your feedback and/or submissions to:

hmeyer@students.wisc.edu (within the text of the
e-mail works best) or mail to:Helen Meyer
556b Teacher Education Building
225 N. Mills St.
Madison, WI 53706-1795

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