Category Archives: Early Childhood

Early Childhood, Elementary Education, Faculty, General, Special Education

Four Professional Development Schools honored as Blue Ribbon Schools

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has selected six Maryland public schools as 2017-2018 Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools. Four of these schools are Towson University College of Education Professional Development Schools (PDS).

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a national and state program that recognizes and honors elementary, middle, and high schools that exhibit high performance and/ or significant improvement in student achievement.  Reducing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students is also a criterion.

The College of Education partners with Professional Development Schools (PDS) for the academic and clinical preparation of interns and the continuous development of both school system and Institution of Higher Education (IHE) faculty. The focus of the PDS partnership is improved student performance through research-based teaching and learning. The Maryland Department of Education (MSDE) requires interns complete a 100-day internship across two consecutive semesters in a Professional Development School (PDS).

The College of Education congratulates all of the 2017-2018 honorees.

Early Childhood, Faculty, General, Professional Development

Dean’s Sabbatical Lecture Series

Supporting New and Early Career Teachers in Maryland Public School Systems: Perceptions, Reality, and Finding Communities of Support​

Dr. Janese Daniels

March 15 2017, 1–2 p.m.
Towson Room, Cook Library

Dr. Janese Daniels, associate professor in early childhood education will present a lecture titled Supporting New & Early Career Teachers in Maryland Public School Systems: Perceptions, Reality, and Finding Communities of Support​.

Light refreshments will be served.

About the Presentation

In this sabbatical presentation, findings from an exploratory study on the needs of new and early career teachers will be discussed. This study explored the needs of early career teachers regarding their perceived needs for support during the pre-tenure period, what types of support they received, and what they would like to have received to ensure that they remained in the profession beyond the pre-tenure period. Early findings indicate that early career teachers want multiple mentoring models, access to faculty in colleges of education from institutes of higher education, and that they seek a sense of professional community early in their careers. Recommendations for partnerships between IHE and local public school systems to help support new and early career teachers will be shared.