What is the Pekin Professional Development School?
The Pekin Professional Development School (PDS) model is a university-public school partnership that combines teacher education and school reform to improve student learning. The intent of the PDS collaborative relationship is to provide a year-long internship which focuses on improved classroom learning, comprehensive preparation for preservice teachers, and professional development opportunities for district educators.

What does this year-long partnership in a PDS look like?
Participants in the Pekin Professional Development School are college seniors from Illinois State University. They are referred to as interns. These interns spend an entire school year in District 108. The year is divided into four phases:

Phase I:

In this phase, I started out in a second grade classroom at Willow Primary School.  I was able to begin the year there and see all of what goes on to get a classroom ready.  I assisted my mentor teacher in getting materials, decorating the classroom, and other jobs to prepare for the upcoming year.  I also attended meetings with my teacher, and really felt like a part of the staff.  Once the school year started, I was fully immersed into the classroom as my mentor’s “right-hand-man.”  I was able to help out with small groups, and assist individual students where needed.  I spent half of my time in the classroom, and the other half finishing up my course work.  In addition to learning many new things in my classroom, I was also able to observe and learn many insightful things throughout the school.  These were focused observations that allowed me to think in-depth about what else goes on in a school setting. 

Phase II:

In this second phase of the internship, I was able to do a split placement.  For the first half of this phase, I was in a fourth grade classroom at Washington Intermediate School, and for the second half, I was in a sixth grade classroom at Wilson School.  In the fourth grade classroom, I had the opportunity to teach a few lessons.  It was a great opportunity going from second grade to fourth grade seeing the developmental differences.  In the fourth grade experience, I was able to attend some parent teacher conferences, which was great to see the preparation involved in it.  My second part of phase two was in sixth grade.  Again, I was able to teach a couple of lessons and get more involved in the classrooms and with the students.  From both of the classrooms, I was able to gain many insights to classroom management, which as I have grown as a teacher, realized that management is the key to being an effective teacher. 

Phase III and IV:

The last two stages, three and four, were my student teaching phases.  I was back in second grade at Willow where I was at in the beginning.  In these two stages, I began to each week take up a subject to teach.  I started out with the not so overwhelming subjects, such as spelling.  But, as I began to feel more confident, I then began to take over the harder subjects.  Every week, my mentor and I planned together, and my mentor gave me advice on what to do, and what might not be the best thing to do.  During these two stages I was able to grow as a teacher, and had quite a learning experience myself.  I really learned about my students each in their own unique way, and with that, I was able to plan according to the different learning styles.  As the semester progressed, my mentor turned into my “right-hand-man.”  I took over all responsibilities of the classroom and was soon the teacher that the students came to.  It was great to be able to experience this, and it was at this time I was able to visualize myself as a teacher and know that I can do this. 

What benefits are there to participating in the Pekin Professional Development School?

• Comprehensive year long internship
• Total immersion in the school culture
• Intensive and extensive clinical experiences and practice
• Opportunities for practice, reflection, and collegiality
• On-site methods coursework
• Linkage between course content and teaching practice
• Involvement in school-community relationships
• Cohort experience
• Recognition by prospective employers
• Promotion of best practices
• Quality Mentor-Intern team
• Preparation for the “real” teaching world