Partnerships
Consistent with UM-Dearborn's Metropolitan Vision, the College of Education, Health, and Human Services purposefully collaborates with numerous school districts, private schools, nonprofit agencies and other post-secondary institutions.
Such collaborations enhance the teacher preparation program by offering diverse placements and utilizing the expertise of the community at large. Some examples are highlighted below.
Collaboration Projects or Partnerships with P-12 Schools
CEHHS has a long relationship with Dearborn Public Schools. CEHHS students are regularly placed in the Dearborn district and many have been hired as Dearborn teachers while they continue their graduate studies in CEHHS. Faculty members are regularly involved in professional development opportunities for Dearborn teachers and conduct research in Dearborn schools. Several Dearborn teachers and administrators are CEHHS adjunct faculty. Recently CEHHS was awarded a $1.1 million grant to collaborate with Dearborn Public Schools to remedy the acute shortage of ESL-endorsed teachers and to accelerate the achievement of secondary ESL students.
New Morning School, an independent school for preschool through grade eight, sought out CEHHS for a partnership. This partnership provides UM-Dearborn students the opportunity to observe and participate in a small school that stresses individualized learning and project-oriented curriculum.
The College of Education, Health, and Human Services has a partnership agreement with Amerman Elementary School, Northville Public Schools for: 1) the placement of student teachers and practicum students and 2) professional development for faculty. The administration is committed to recruiting cooperating teachers with an interest in coaching new teachers and who have demonstrated high instructional skills. The principal observes the student teachers, provides letters of recommendation and conducts student teachers’ seminars on site.
A formal partnership approved by the Plymouth Canton Board of Education has been established to: 1) enhance the learning environment of the students, 2) provide the university with high-quality educational placements, 3) provide professional development for the staff and faculty, and 4) collaborate on grants and research that would benefit the educational mission of both partners.
The Center for Mathematics Education offers professional development for classroom teachers through the intermediate school districts of Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw and Monroe counties. The focus of this work is helping teachers gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics they teach in a context of a learning environment that models instructional strategies that support the learning of all students with the initial emphasis on middle school.
In a social studies classroom at the Douglass Academy for Young Men in Detroit, the members of the History, Art, and Culture Club meet regularly with the social studies and multicultural education faculty from UM-Dearborn. The high school students in this all-boys, public high school explore how works of art may be used to construct narratives about the past. In addition to learning about works of art and the lives of artists, the students paint, create mosaics and engage in other creative projects. Each June, both students and educators participate in a field trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The ECEC is a state of Michigan-approved child care and education center for children one through six years of age, as well as a teacher preparation and child study facility. The center serves approximately 200 children with a wide range of socioeconomic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The ECEC is an inclusive education site for young children with special needs. Enrollment priority is given to university students, faculty and staff and the wider community. Currently, the ECEC enrolls children who qualify for the state-funded four-year-old children at risk grant (Great Start) program. The ECEC is well known for its study of Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum and best practices in the education and care of young children. The ECEC is housed in a new facility that is shared with Beaumont Center for Exceptional Families. This collaboration permits students to gain many experiences with children with special needs and their families.
CEHHS has partnered with Westwood Community School District, a district with a large percentage of children qualifying for free or reduced lunch. CEHHS has co-authored a number of grants with Westwood to improve instruction. Science and literacy faculty regularly work in the Westwood classrooms; the faculty and the administration of both groups collaborate on research and instructional projects and professional development activities. Currently, several faculty members are observing and working with the professional learning communities created in various content areas in the high school.
Collaboration Projects or Partnerships with Community
CEHHS and ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Success) collaborate on many programs and presentations on a variety of appropriate topics on campus and in the community.
The College of Education, Health, and Human Services has articulation agreements with a number of community colleges, including Henry Ford Community College, Oakland Community College, Macomb Community College, Schoolcraft Community College, Wayne County Community College and Washtenaw Community College. These agreements allow for a seamless transfer from the community college to the university. The college also collaborates with Henry Ford Community College in a federally funded Partners Plus program designed to facilitate the entry of minority group members into teaching.
UM-Dearborn is collaborating with Michigan State University and Central Michigan University to enhance pre-service teachers' understanding of young children with special needs.
Michigan State University, Oakland University and UM-Dearborn are collaborating on a federal grant to enhance the use of technology in teacher preparation programs.
CEHHS students enrolled in EDD 495 Social Studies in the Elementary Grades receive training as consultants with the Junior Achievement (JA) program. JA designed its program to address the economic perspective of the Michigan Standards and Benchmarks for social studies. JA arranges placements in elementary schools where CEHHS consultants visit five times to teach basic economics concepts with JA materials.
The CEHHS, ECEC and Beaumont Center for Exceptional Families (CEF) have a formal agreement of collaboration. The ECEC and CEF share a facility owned by Beaumont. The CEF provides comprehensive, coordinated, culturally competent healthcare for children with major developmental disabilities or chronic complex disorders. This partnership seeks to become a national model for service and education for children with and without disabilities and their families. This unique collaboration, focusing on transdisciplinary research, will prepare a new generation of teachers who can effectively help children of diverse abilities learn together and appreciate their similarities and differences.
Early childhood faculty members serve on the Out-Wayne County Head Start Professional Development Committee. Articulation agreements with Schoolcraft College and UM-Dearborn have been developed, Head Start teachers enroll in UM-Dearborn programs and conferences are held on the UM-Dearborn campus for Head Start teachers. Head Start teachers’ professional development is enhanced in two ways: by teaching on campus at the ECEC as well as by being observed and mentored by university supervisors in their own Head Start classroom.
CEHHS collaborates with Wayne RESA on a variety of grant applications where a higher education partner is required. In addition, several faculty members serve as evaluators of Wayne RESA programs. CEHHS is an active member of the Great Start Readiness Project. This project is a collaboration of organizations to support families of young children in Wayne County.