News & Events

Wyoming School-University Partnership September Newsletter

NNER Summer Leadership Symposium teaches democracy in education; Student Senate at Eastern Wyoming College rewards civility; UW summer camps encourage teachers and students in STEM exploration; 6th Annual College of Education Literacy Education Conference; Lost in Transition writing and literature colloquium; e-Volution technology conference; Pinedale faculty pursue education history project with 2014 Teaching Writing in Wyoming mini-grant funds; UW College of Education celebrates 100 years; NNER annual conference in Cincinnati, Ohio; and more!

With continued dedication to creating a system of simultaneous renewal through collaboration and partnerships, faculty from Teacher Education have worked for the past two years to develop a number of professional development school (PDS) partnerships.  These collaborations are meant to increase student achievement, improve training of future educators, and create opportunities for professional development of teachers.  The Wright State coordinator for each site is committed to working with the school to provide support, development, and connections to resources, and will assist with collecting data for analyzing student achievement.

An agreement with the newest PDS, Horace Mann Elementary, was signed during the Spring of 2013.  Michelle Fleming will be the site coordinator.  Partnerships already in place include the Dayton Regional Stem School (DRSS), with Brian Boyd as the site coordinator; and the Dayton Boys Preparatory Academy, with Anna Lyon as the site coordinator.

Horace Mann PDS Agreement Signing with Megan Winston (Principal); Michelle Fleming, WSU; Jack McKnight, WSU; David Lawrence Dayton Public Schools.

In April of 2013, after much planning and effort from Jack McKnight, assistant director of Partnerships and Field Experiences, and many others, WSUNER held its first partnership conference.  Representatives from 10 local partnership school districts attended the conference and gave presentations on research and best practices in their districts.  The conference was an excellent opportunity for Wright State faculty and staff to interact and engage with the teachers and administrators from the partnership school districts, and for conference attendees to learn from each other.  Planning is already underway for the 2014 conference.

NNER Co-Directors Greg Bernhardt and Ann Foster at the WSUNER conference.

Student and staff volunteers at the WSUNER conference.

Wright State University Network for Educational Renewal 2nd Annual Conference

The second annual Wright State University Network for Educational Renewal (WSUNER) Conference was held for April 26, 2014. Wright State University’s President Dr. David Hopkins opened the conference with a keynote address. Faculty and staff presented thirty-six examples of best practices from partnership school districts and the Dayton Regional STEM School. Community organization partners also participate by highlighting the advantages of their programs to PK-12.

This year’s the conference included a two hour NNER training workshop for twenty partnership district administrators and WSU faculty. This session afforded an opportunity to expose those in leadership positions to the mission of NNER encouraging continued commitment to the concepts of “simultaneous renewal” and “democratic engagement.” Ann Foster and Greg Bernhardt, Co-executive Directors of NNER, and James Tomlin, Chair of the WSU Department of Teacher Education, led the session.

A total of 260 professionals attended the conference including teachers, administrators, community organization members, WSU faculty and student teachers. The event was held in Allyn Hall, the home of the College of Education and Human Services, on the WSU campus. The WSUNER Conference committee is very appreciative of the $4000 Setting Renewal Grant awarded by the National Network for Educational Renewal in support of the 2014 event.

Wright State University Network for Educational Renewal’s (WSUNER’s) proposal to serve as the host site of the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER), including the continuation of Ann Foster and Greg Bernhardt as co-directors, was approved by the NNER Governing Council at its March 1 meeting at the AACTE Annual Conference in Orlando.

The announcement from Council Chair Deb Shanley noted that Wright State had “a significant institutional commitment, a campus capacity to build upon a strong foundation, and a supportive infrastructure.” The National Network for Educational Renewal leads by example as it strives to improve simultaneously the quality of education for thoughtful participation in a democracy and the quality of the preparation of educators. The NNER works through partnerships among P-12 schools, institutions of higher education, and communities.  Wright State has been a proud member of NNER for twenty years, the work of the Wright State University Network for Educational Renewal (WSUNER) has led to fruitful partnerships with local school districts.

The Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut in collaboration with the NNER and GroundSpark, an educational and social justice non-profit that ignites change through film, will offer an exciting opportunity to stakeholders in October. Amy Scharf, Eileen Glaser, and Joel Brown will travel to Connecticut to train grades 4-12 teachers, administrators, teacher education faculty and community organization members using The Respect for All Project (RFAP). RFAP is a national initiative focused on creating inclusive and welcoming school and community environments where young people of all backgrounds and experiences can thrive. René Roselle, from the Neag School of Education is organizing the pilot program.  Look for more on this work at next year’s conference!

The Wyoming setting will hold a session facilitated by Angela Jaime and Kevin Roxas using the Groundspark materials to advance efforts to address issues of equity and safety in schools and teacher education programs.

Missouri Partnership for Educational Renewal  (MPER) will host a leadership development session October 28^—29, 2013. Initiated by Dan Lowry, the setting will host a regional conference that includes the St. Louis Consortium for Educational Renewal, Nebraska Network for Educational Renewal, and Illinois State University Partnership.

UTEP hosted the CIRCLE Summer Institute August 1-2, 2013 that promoted research and dialogue on equity and social justice for all learners in K-20 settings. The focus was on underserved communities and included workshops for educators in English and Spanish.

Wright State Partnership will host its second local conference in April 2014 for partnership renewal. The session will include Ohio colleagues from Ohio University and Miami of Ohio as well as members of the Wright State partnership.

University of New Mexico will host a leadership development entitled, “Teacher Corps Project: Engagement with Community.

nner letter

NNER is excited to be partnering with GroundSpark, an educational and social justice non-profit that ignites change through film. GroundSpark is the home of The Respect for All Project, a national initiative focused on creating inclusive and welcoming school and community environments where young people of all backgrounds and experiences can thrive. This new collaboration has resulted in a grant that will bring Respect for All materials and facilitators to an NNER setting to pilot a two day workshop on creating a safe and caring environment for all. The link to the  call for proposals is above and it includes contact information if there are questions from those interested in applying. Proposals must be submitted by April 19th to Ann Foster and Greg Bernhardt.

Letter from Chair

Leadership Development Application       Setting Renewal Application

The Governing Council has approved funding for three years of support to NNER settings to promote local renewal in the midst of leadership and budget changes that affect the local work and structures to advance the NNER mission. In addition, the Governing Council approved funding for regional leadership development and outreach to others that share our commitment to improving our democracy through quality education for all. Three grants in each of these areas will be funded for  up to $3000 per year for the calendar years 2013-2015.  The attached RFPs have detailed descriptions of the initiatives and application process. Note that there is no timeline, these can be submitted at any time as settings’ schedules for meetings and planning sessions differ and the Governing Council wants to ensure that all interested settings have an opportunity to apply for funding.

Membership Updates

Current NNER setting members can log in to the membership section using the user name and password that your setting NNER contact has been given. Individual members will create user names and passwords. For both groups, user name and  passwords allow access to the Member section, all other web page sections are accessible without a password.