Augusta University's College of Education is committed to provide quality support for our graduates during their critical first three years of teaching. Dr. Judi Wilson and Dr. Karen Wyler from the Georgia Department of Education have partnered to establish an Induction Collaborative that supports local school districts in this essential work. The team is providing technical assistance to Burke, Columbia, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, and Warren County school systems to generate and refine comprehensive district teacher induction programs to address each district's unique school needs.
Recently, Augusta University hosted induction conversations to assess district needs and identify next steps. These partner districts are also collaborating with the team to provide an Impacting Student Learning Conference each March to support the professional learning needs of new teachers. Augusta University College of Education looks forward to strengthening and expanding this collaboration in the future. When we work together, our P-12 students benefit!
Our partnership with our P-12 school partners is a mutually beneficial arrangement. The COE faculty and school-based faculty co-teach classes, provide professional development, participate in professional learning communities, and co-supervise teacher candidates as they learn to implement pedagogical strategies. The P-12 partners provide up to date information regarding changes in standards, in county and state initiatives, and work with teacher candidates to translate their professional preparation into student success. In Fall 2014, four COE faculty volunteered to teach their classes at a local elementary school in Richmond County (Lake Forest Hills). Since that time, we have added classes at Sue Reynolds Elementary School (Richmond County) and at Brookwood Elementary School (Columbia County). Our middle grades faculty and candidates began teaching classes on site at Tutt Middle School (Richmond County) in Fall 2015. Since that time, Riverside Middle School (Columbia County) has also begun hosting our faculty and candidates on site. In Fall 2016, we began a new partnership with the Intermediate Literacy and Math Center (Richmond County). We are hosting undergraduate and graduate courses on site as well as providing free literacy tutoring to the community.
We thank our school partners and our Elementary Education faculty, along with our Middle Grades Education faculty, for hosting their college classes on school sites.
