News Releases

Portland Public Schools and USM Sign Partnership for Professional Development

May 18, 2004

Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor will announce the signing of the Partnership Compact for Professional Development at the Wednesday, May 19, Portland School Committee business meeting. The meeting will be held in Room 250 of the Portland Arts and Technology High School on Allen Avenue, Portland.

"This Compact," says Dean Betty Lou Whitford of USM's College of Education and Human Development, "extends our commitment to the largest public school district in the state."

An outgrowth of the Strengthening and Sustaining Teachers Project (SST), the Compact continues to develop ways to support continuous teacher development, thereby enhancing the education of students. The SST Project is grant-funded from 2000 to 2005 through the University of Washington. Portland Public Schools and USM were invited to join schools in Albuquerque, N.M., and Seattle, Washington, to develop programs that support continuous professional learning for teachers.

The unique thing about the SST Project and the Compact for Professional Development is that the Portland teachers' union, the Portland Education Association, is an equal partner. The compact brings together for the first time, the union representing teachers, the university that prepares teachers for the classroom, and the school district that provides teacher mentoring, support and development programs. These three distinct groups together hold the belief that "continuous, high quality professional development for teachers is the key to high levels of student learning."

Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor says of the Compact, "This work allows us to break new ground on how we do our work with USM and the Portland Education Association, becoming one entity to stay focused on what happens for all kids in our classrooms."

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