Teaching Internship in Professional Development Schools
The teaching internship is also called the Professional
Year because it encompasses the last two semesters of each program. This is a time when the teaching experience become more intensive in a Professional Development School (PDS).
In the last two decades, renewal and reform have been the
agenda for P-12 schools, and the major approach to implementation has been
standards-based reform and restructuring at the P-12 level.
While crucial, this unilateral P-12 approach is insufficient.
Attention to teacher quality is equally critical. As a result, P-16
partnerships have been created to initiate and sustain the simultaneous
renewal of P-12 and teacher education, and to provide for the continuous
professional development of educators, from pre-service, through
induction, and throughout their professional careers.
PDS Network History
The College of Education at Towson University launched its
Professional Development School Network in 1994 with Owings Mills
Elementary School (Baltimore County Public Schools), which had been
reorganized as a teacher education magnet. Today, the PDS Network
includes the College of Education's departments--Early Childhood
Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Special
Education--and collaborates with each public school system in the
Baltimore metropolitan area and surrounding school systems ( Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Baltimore City,
Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, and St. Mary's Counties).
The PDS Network includes elementary, middle and high schools, as well as
special education centers.
PDS Network Governance
For the Professional Development School initiative to
realize its full potential, all stakeholders must participate in refining
the collaborative and in managing its operations. To that end,
institutions within the network are actively involved in guiding this
initiative. To foster communication and collaboration among members
of the Towson University PDS Network, collaborative governing bodies exist
for each PDS to make decisions regarding activities and fiscal requests.
Additionally, representatives of the Towson network participate
with representatives from other institutions throughout the Maryland
Professional Development School Network and the state.
PDS Network Milestones
Towson University's PDS Network is viewed as a national
and state leader in professional development schools. Some of the
Network's accomplishments follow:
Selected as a pilot site for NCATE's PDS standards Field Test Project
Host of Maryland's 1998 National PDS Conference, "Charting a New Course"
1998 - Distinguished Program in Teacher Education (Association of Teacher Educators
Secured grant funding from organizations including Eisenhower, MHEC, NCATE, Goals 2000, MSDE and Title II
Host of 2003 National PDS Conference, "Staying the Course: PDS, An Anchor for P-16 Reform."
2005 - Excellence Award for Educational Programs (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
2008 - Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teacher Education (American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education)
2008 - Spirit of Partnership Award (National Association of Professional Development Schools)
2008 - Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education (American Association of State Colleges and Universities)
PDS Network Features
The PDS Network offers a number of on-site graduate
courses at reduced rate:
8000 York Road | Towson, MD 21252 | 410-704-2000
