To support school efforts to make policy decisions that will benefit students and aid in learning recovery, Pender County Schools (PCS) has joined the North Carolina Practitioner Network, a new partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), faculty members in the UNC School of Education and East Carolina University.
The Practitioner Network is designed to connect groups in the education sector that can sometimes seem siloed: K-12 and higher education leaders and educators, university-based faculty and researchers, and state policymakers.
Dr. Brad Breedlove, Superintendent of Pender County Schools, saw the Practitioner Network as a unique opportunity to bring practitioners, researchers and policymakers together to work on a pressing problem of practice and identify a solution for addressing it.
"This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our collective commitment to student success and learning recovery,” said Dr. Brad Breedlove. “By joining forces with the North Carolina Practitioner Network, Pender County Schools is embracing a collaborative approach that transcends traditional boundaries in education.”
Practitioner Network teams met virtually last month for the second of five all-day workshops to refine their problems of practice and then identify research-based strategies for addressing those challenges. The interactive session served as a pivotal platform for fostering strategies aimed at bolstering teacher retention, with a focused lens on supporting the needs of novice educators. By addressing key challenges and offering tailored resources, such interactive engagements aim to strengthen the dedication and effectiveness of new educators, thus improving the longevity and vitality of the teaching profession.
One unique feature of the Practitioner Network is the pairing of participating districts with a researcher from a North Carolina university who helps them to investigate existing barriers which affect beginning teacher retention using the plan, do, study, act (PDSA) method. PCS was matched with Dr. Travis Lewis and Dr. Karen Jones, faculty members at East Carolina University.
"Our partnership with the North Carolina Practitioner Network exemplifies our commitment to collaborative problem-solving in education,” said PCS Assistant Superintendent Kevin Taylor. “By uniting practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, we aim to address challenges such as teacher retention. Through the use of the PDSA method and partnerships with institutions like East Carolina University, we're working towards evidence-based solutions that benefit students and support our strategic goals."
“By training district leaders in research methodology and connecting them with university partners, we want to foster data-driven solutions that positively impact policy and classroom practice,” said Jeni Corn, Ph.D., director of research and evaluation at NCDPI.
By the end of the year-long experience, each team will prepare a proposal to be considered for funding by the North Carolina Collaboratory, a research funding organization headquartered at UNC-Chapel Hill. Established by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2016 and supported with State appropriations, the Collaboratory funds research that can generate practical information for use by State and local governments and the communities they serve.
In 2021, the Collaboratory partnered with NCDPI to launch 20 research projects across more than 14 institutions of higher education, each involving partnerships with NCDPI and school
districts with the goal of accelerating recovery from the impacts of the pandemic on student learning. The Practitioner Network builds on this effort and launches the partnership between NCDPI and the Collaboratory into a new phase with greater focus on expanding research capacity in school districts and long-term partnerships with university faculty.
“By engaging some of the best minds across our universities, state agencies, and school systems, we remain committed to funding research that prioritizes the post-pandemic learning recovery process for students statewide and provides them – and education leaders – with the support they need to get back on track,” said Jeff Warren, Ph.D., executive director of the North Carolina Collaboratory.
NCDPI and the North Carolina Collaboratory fund the North Carolina Practitioner Network, bringing together 16 North Carolina’s public school districts and charter organizations with university faculty members from across the state to work together on evidence-based solutions to the most pressing problems districts and schools face. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Martinette Horner, faculty member at the UNC School of Education.