UNC Greensboro School of Education announced the establishment of the Institute for Partnerships in Education (I-PiE), to be housed within the School of Education (SOE). The SOE expects I-PiE will be operational in summer or fall of 2020 and is starting the process of developing the Institute infrastructure, beginning with identifying Institute leadership.
I-PiE will provide the necessary infrastructure and leadership to facilitate and support long-term partnerships between the SOE and education-related agencies (e.g., school districts, libraries, community organizations, etc.) across the state and beyond.
“I-PiE will bring unique focus to strengthening and expanding partnerships within North Carolina, and will be positioned to be a recognized national leader in advancing knowledge and practice of university-school partnerships,” says Randy Penfield, Dean of the School of Education. “We are grateful to the UNCG Board of Trustees for their support of the institute, and our collective commitment to improving the quality of education in NC.”
The functions and goals of I-PiE will include actively working with local educational agencies to identify points of intersection between the pressing needs of the educational agencies and potential capacity of UNC Greensboro education faculty/staff. I-PiE will broker partnership matches between our faculty/staff and educational agencies to position us for timely partnerships as needs arise. The Institute will also aid the development of grants supporting partnership work, and expand currently existing partnerships where such opportunities exist.
In addition, I-PiE will help coordinate contracted services such as professional development and consulting to local educational agencies. SOE undergraduate and graduate students will have broadened opportunities to engage in experiential learning related to partnerships embedded in K-12 and associated community settings.
The SOE has a strong foundation in partnership work, including the Principal Preparation for Excellence and Equity in Rural Schools (PPEERS) program; Transforming Teaching with Technology (T4) with Guilford County Schools and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools; the new Piedmont Teacher Residency Program (PTRP) with Rockingham County Schools and Surry County Schools; the Moss Street Partnership School; and many other projects involving long-term partnerships with educational agencies. I-PiE will build on this foundation to support a broader scale of impact.
