By William Schexnayder
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

UH-Clear Lake and the Clear Creek Independent School District united to establish the Professional Development Laboratory School at McWhirter Elementary School in Webster.

Professional development is a term that is not familiar to all students, but to those in the School of Education it is muy importante.

Almost 60 percent of the 700 McWhirter students do not speak English as their native language, and 70 percent are economically disadvantaged. Dual Language, by which English and Spanish are both spoken, will be a key program in the school and is intended to produce students who are fluent in both languages.

Through the partnership, CCISD staff, UH-Clear Lake faculty, and UH-Clear Lake candidates and interns will work to create a school in which students and teacher development will flourish. In addition to Dual Language, the professional development school will concentrate on Mentoring and the Teacher As Researcher programs.

"At the top of our list of goals is to increase the achievement level of students at McWhirter Elementary," said James Sherrill, associate dean of the School of Education. "It will also provide an ideal opportunity for professional development for teachers during the school day, get UH-Clear Lake faculty into a school environment, and provide a good environment for internships and for our students."

McWhirter Elementary School originally housed 1,000 students, but the physical facility is being remodeled to allow for on-site participation of UH-Clear Lake personnel, as well as teachers and administrators from CCISD.

The partnership visualizes that in the future CCISD teachers will rotate into the professional development school and then share their expertise throughout the district with others. During the year, community activities at the school will be designed to help advance the improvement and success of all.

"We are working with our school district colleagues on a range of professional development and training activities in support of both CCISD and UH-Clear Lake personnel," said Dennis Spuck, dean of the School of Education. "The Professional Development Laboratory School affords a rich environment for research both on educational issues related to the school as well as on the collaborative professional development program we are implementing there."

Professional development refers to an environment in which educators work together to improve their teaching and enhance student learning. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education issued a report called Hope for Urban Education that recommended more high-quality professional development that increases the amount of time that educators spend working with and learning from each other. The Professional Development Laboratory School is an example of this educational practice.

"We are so pleased with the excellent progress that we have made to date and the exciting working relationship that has been established between UH-Clear Lake and CCISD," Spuck said.

Within the next few years, the goal is to spread the program to middle schools and eventually to secondary schools.

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