Professional Development Schools (PDS)
Washington College has Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships with three local public school districts: Kent, Queen Anne's, and Cecil Counties. A PDS is a school where students complete extensive internships as a part of a learning community and share responsibility with school faculty for the academic performance of PreK-12 students. School-based Mentor Teachers share responsibility with College faculty for the clinical performance of interns.
In Maryland, interns completing a PDS experience spend a minimum of 100 days over two consecutive semesters engaged in the school community learning to teach and having experiences with students of diverse backgrounds and abilities. Interns are also expected to document mastery of professional standards for beginning teachers by developing a portfolio based on the Maryland Essential Dimensions of Teaching.
Internship placements are made by the College PDS Liaison and the school Site Coordinators.
Quotes From Program Participants
Click on pictures to enlarge.
Principal - Richard McNeal:
"We are pleased at Queen Anne's County High School to offer Washington College teacher interns the opportunity to get first hand experience in working with youngsters. The interns have the time and opportunity to sit down and discuss everything they do with a master teacher who guides them during every step of their training."
Academic Dean and PDS Site Coordinator - Kaye Romanosky:
"Our school's Professional Development School partnership with Washington College has been a great collaborative effort. We have benefited by having more staff development for our faculty and by having teacher interns in our school. We enjoy the fresh ideas and enthusiasm of the teacher interns and consider them to be an integral part of our school community."
Supervising Teacher - Jill Mayer:
"The internship experience is valuable for beginning teachers. It allows them to deal with real live classroom situations involving students with various backgrounds."
Teacher Intern - Stacy Barnes, English Major:
"Queen Anne's County High School has much more student diversity than I experienced in my own high school. I'm now seeing the connections between what I learned in my college classes and what works in practice. Even though teaching is tough, I feel confident because I have a good academic background."
Teacher Intern - Patrick Cline, Physics Major:
"The internship experience shows you the real world outside of college. It prepares you in a nurturing environment where you can stumble and fall but always have someone there to help you get back on track."
Professional Development Schools
Queen Anne's County High School
Kent County
H. H. Garnett Elementary School
Worton Elementary School
Chestertown Middle School
Kent County High School
Queen Anne's County
Sudlersville Elementary School
Church Hill Elementary School
Centreville Middle School
Queen Anne's County High School
Cecil County
Bohemia Manor Middle School
Bohemia Manor High School