The School District of Philadelphia's Professional Development Schools (PDS) are formal relationships between institutions of higher education (IHEs) and Philadelphia public schools. PDS partnerships are formed and sustained in order to enhance the performance of K-12 students, pre-service teachers and the professional staffs of both partners through shared expertise and resources, collaborative projects and ongoing inquiry, reflection and dialogue.

In the summer of 2006, nine Philadelphia public schools entered into formal partnerships with institutions of higher education to begin the process of developing Professional Development School Partnerships. Guided by the NCATE standards (see below), and with support from The Student Teacher Pipeline to the Future--a collaboration between the School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Education Fund--teams worked to develop PDS plans for the 2006-2007 school year.

In fall 2007, an additional partnership began its planning process.  Now in its second year of implementation of PDS initiatives, the Philadelphia Education Fund is supporting each of these partnerships as they expand, evaluate, reflect, and share new expertise.

View our 2007-2008 Yearbook and the great work of these partnerships!
- View the 2006-2007 Yearbook.

Click here to view a map of our current PDS partners!

NCATE PDS Partnership Standards:

1. Genuine Learning Communities: Standard I addresses the unique environment created in a PDS partnership that supports both professionals' and children's learning.
   
2. Mutual Accountability: Standard II addresses the responsibility of a PDS partnership to uphold professional teaching and learning standards.
   
3. Collaboration: Standard III addresses the development and implementation of a unique university/school community that shares responsibility across insitutional boundaries.
   
4. Equity and Diversity: Standard IV addresses the reponsibility of the PDS partnership to prepare professionals to meet the needs of diverse learners.
   
5. Structures, Resources, and Roles: Standard V addresses the infrastructure that a PDS partnership uses and/or creates that may redefine structures, resources, and roles.

The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) released "Standards for Professional Development Schools" in 2001. To view the full standards, Click Here.