SURN

The School-University Research Network (SURN) began in 1993 as a partnership of the School of Education at the College of William and Mary with the following Virginia school systems to conduct relevant research and provide professional development in order to promote quality teaching and learning: Charles City County, Franklin City, Gloucester County, Hampton City, Hopewell City, Isle of Wight County, King and Queen County, King William County, Lancaster County, Mathews County, Middlesex County, New Kent County, Newport News City, Norfolk City, Northumberland County, Petersburg City, Poquoson City, Portsmouth City, Prince George County, Richmond County, Southampton County, Suffolk City, Surry County, Town of West Point, Williamsburg/James City County, and York County.

Today, these 27 Virginia school districts actively participate in SURN through:

• providing access to their schools, faculty, and students for research;
• participating in professional development programs created to address needs identified by SURN Superintendents.

Projects

SURN Adolescent Literacy Project

Funded by the Virginia Department of Education, Title II

Year one of a proposed two-year project will provide professional development aimed at improving adolescent literacy in middle schools identified by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Nine SURN middle schools and three non-SURN affiliated schools will be invited to participate by the VDOE. Approximately 96 teachers representing each core content area (eight teacher leaders per school) and 12 instructional leaders will receive the targeted services that lead to increased student learning. Further, all SURN schools have the opportunity to benefit from the instructional resources, including, but not limited to, a fall workshop. In year two, the emphasis will expand to the high schools into which the target middle school feed. This VDOE award recognizes the commitment of the SURN partnership to high-quality, standards-based professional development, adolescent literacy, and SURN’s hallmark of leadership capacity-building opportunities for teachers and principals.

SURN Leadership for Effective Teaching

NCLB 2009-2010 SCHEV Grant

SURN Leadership for Effective Teaching focuses on generating principal, assistant principal, and teacher dialogue on pedagogy, adolescent literacy strategies, mathematics, and classroom-based data. Thirty-two principals and assistant principals in 16 targeted middle schools, including six from high-poverty school divisions, will receive training in collecting and discussing data related to observed teacher classroom practices. By collecting data on classroom performance and sharing those data with teachers, administrators not only provide a rich opportunity for teacher reflection, but also create a forum for collaborative dialogue focused on improving the quality of teaching performance through professional growth. The conceptual framework illustrates the relationship connecting leadership and learning and the components addressed in this proposal that occur as part of the leadership capacity building process. Resulting dialogues and workshops conducted with approximately 300 teachers will promote teacher reflection and enhance teacher effectiveness, which in turn will increase student achievement. Sustained professional development includes workshops, coaching support, and asynchronous virtual discussions. An intensive workshop offered in fall 2010 will be subsidized with grant funds to enable administrators from other SURN schools to receive instructional leader professional development.