The Holmes Center for School Partnerships and Educator Preparation at Plymouth State University has entered into a new, innovative partnership with the Franklin, New Hampshire, School District. Through this partnership, the Franklin School District is covering the cost of graduate education courses and professional development workshops for its teachers. PSU faculty members are also providing in-classroom literacy and math curriculum support for Franklin elementary and middle schools.
The partnership is designed to improve educational outcomes for K-12 students, prepare new teachers with best practices, and retain teachers in the rural district. The partnership will also provide a setting for PSU faculty and students to benefit from hands-on experience that will inform their pedagogical research and help prepare the next generation of teachers.
“The collaboration between Franklin public schools and Plymouth State University is a win-win for teachers and students at Franklin and for the faculty and student interns from PSU,” said School Administrative Unit 18 Superintendent Daniel LeGallo. “By investing in a master’s degree course that is offered at no cost to our teachers, and the addition of PSU’s in-classroom faculty support, we hope to strengthen educator skills and limit turnover while improving the educational experience for teachers and students alike. At the same time, we hope this collaboration serves as a pipeline for future educators to join our vibrant and inventive school district.”
Due largely to economic headwinds, LeGallo said the district has faced significant turnover among its teachers over the past year. It currently employs 85 teachers and has open positions for 12, while serving a K-12 student body of about 900.
“We recognize there’s a significant teacher shortage throughout New Hampshire and especially in the Franklin School District,” said Holmes Center Director Brian Walker. “We want to partner with K-12 school districts to support current teachers and provide clinical field work opportunities for our undergraduate students at PSU. This is part of a larger effort at the Holmes Center to partner with K-12 school districts such as Franklin and Littleton to offer leading-edge initiatives to grow and support New Hampshire educators. I’m excited to watch this program expand and evolve in the years to come.”
About 20 Franklin public school teachers are enrolled in this school year’s first master’s degree course, which is taught in the Franklin Middle School Media Center by PSU Assistant Professor and English Education Coordinator Kenneth Logan. The course, The Science Behind Teaching and Learning, kicked off in September.
Another master’s degree course will be offered in the spring. Each provides teachers with three credits toward a total 30 required for the postgraduate degree. Teachers can earn their master’s degree through the district-covered classes in just a few years, or sooner if teachers enroll at PSU directly. The master’s courses and professional development workshops count toward a teacher’s continuing education units (CEUs) for recertification.
Over the course of the school year, three PSU educators, Joseph “Joey” Rino, associate professor and program coordinator for elementary education and youth development, Vicki Kelly, coordinator of clinical practice, and Logan will support the implementation of literacy and math curricula by working alongside Franklin middle and elementary school teachers weekly. This work will help teachers roll out new curricula, develop their understanding of the pedagogy, provide instructional tools and competencies, and build consistency between various classrooms.
There will also be internship opportunities for PSU education students, which will offer valuable experiential learning that will help make them career-ready for teaching jobs when they graduate.
Both the Franklin School District and PSU have invested more than $85,000 in combined tuition, faculty hours, and in-kind services as part of this program so far.
The partnership began with a pilot program in the previous school year, with a master’s level course in spring 2023 called Try This on Monday: Practical Recommendations for Teaching. PSU also facilitated professional development workshops for Franklin teachers over the past summer.
