The Durham Public School System is partnering with Duke to initiate new programs to help improve teachers' effectiveness in the classroom, officials announced Wednesday.
Over the next three years, the two institutions will implement three new initiatives: the Durham Teaching Fellows program, Spanish Language Leap and a program to strengthen teacher retention.
President Richard Brodhead said the initiatives are effective immediately, with the exception of the language program, which will begin in August. The University is expected to contribute approximately $925,000 to assist DPS in implementing the programs over the three-year period.
Duke's funding will come from money Brodhead had set aside, said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations.
"It is profoundly shortsighted for Duke-or any American university-to forget about K through 12 education," Brodhead said. "We can think we're living in separate universes, but we all rise and fall together."
Brodhead, who was instrumental in identifying the need for the programs, said he spent a day visiting public schools last year and witnessed firsthand not only the good work being done but also the improvements needed in teaching.
Through the DTF program, Duke will fully fund eight teachers per year who are pursuing their masters of arts in teaching degrees at the University. The eight fellows will then be required to teach core subjects in Durham public high schools for two years. The scholarship amount is $43,808 in "forgivable loans" per student for the 2006-07 school year. The funds will cover tuition costs and a stipend.
"We know public school teachers are woefully underpaid," said DPS Superintendent Ann Denlinger.
Brodhead added that DTF will increase the number of highly trained teachers in Durham. "I think that's what you call a win-win-win," he said.
Through the SLL program, Duke faculty in the Romance studies department will direct an intensive three-day workshop on conversational Spanish for 30 Durham teachers each year. The teachers will then participate in weekly training sessions throughout the year. They will ultimately have the opportunity to participate in a weeklong trip to Mexico, during which they will stay with a Mexican family in order to practice their language skills.
"It's no secret that the Spanish-speaking population is growing rapidly," said DPS Deputy Superintendent Carl Harris, who will take over the vacated superintendent post once Denlinger steps down in June.
The DPS Hispanic student population has risen exponentially over the past decade. At Lakewood Elementary School alone, Spanish-speaking students make up 42 percent of the student body. Ten years ago, they made up only 3 percent of the student populations.
"I must say, when I found out about [the SLL program] I thought about being a teacher and not superintendent," Harris joked, referring to the all-expenses paid trip to Mexico.
In order to bolster Durham teacher retention, Duke's Center for Teacher Learning and Collaboration will provide mentoring support as well as personal and professional growth workshops for 30 teachers per year who have taught for three to seven years in DPS.
"Once you get past the three-year mark, frustration sets in," said Robbyn LaBelle, a fifth grade teacher at Lakewood Elementary.
LaBelle explained that the professional growth workshops could make jobs more rewarding for teachers questioning their career path.
Durham students in attendance said they approved of all three programs, especially the SLL program.
"If there were students that didn't understand what the teacher said in English they could tell them in Spanish," said eight-year-old Elvira Vasquez, who has lived in the United States for four years.
Although the three initiatives currently are only slated for the next three years, the Duke and DPS expect to extend them permanently, contingent upon secured additional funding, Burness said.
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