A Highly Successful School–University Partnership

“This collaboration between a school district and a university has proven to be the most substantial and productive effort I have everseen.”

I am excited to contribute a column for the Gifted Child Today introducing a wonderful collaboration between the Center for Gifted Education (CFGE) at William & Mary and the Paradise Valley School District in Phoenix, Arizona. In my 35 years in higher education, this collaboration between a school district and a university has proven to be the most substantial and productive effort I have ever seen. To tell this part of this story, we need to shift from institutions to individuals. We also need to include the important mission of the collaboration that guided the work and provided an important rallying point for the professionals involved.

This partnership idea originated about 5 years ago. It emerged from a problem-solving session among the directors at the CFGE. At that time, we decided that we wanted and needed to complete a large-scale investigation into the efficacy of some of the CFGE curriculum materials. Unfortunately, there were very limited grant opportunities available, so I began the process of saving CFGE money for this purpose. We presented the issue to our National Advisory Board (NAB) members and they recommended we hire a postdoctoral research fellow to help conduct the curriculum study. The CFGE Directors heeded the NAB members’ advice and created the new position. Three years ago, Dr. Yara Farah was hired as a postdoctoral research fellow with a primary focus on the curriculum study.

The earliest plan paired Drs. Kim Chandler, then Director of Curriculum, and Yara Farah as the primary research and implementation team. Drs. Jennifer Robins, Director of Professional Development and Publications, Jennifer Riedl Cross, Director of Research, and myself as Executive Director of the CFGE and the Institute for Research on the Suicide of Gifted Students, all provided technical assistance, research advice, and financial support for the study itself. We helped craft the research design as well. During the three years of the study, Dr. Chandler retired, and Dr. Robins worked more closely with Dr. Farah and their colleagues in Arizona. Dr. Jennifer Riedl Cross worked much more closely with Dr. Farah on the research piece as well.

The hard work of building a partnership from the CFGE side fell to Drs. Chandler and Farah. They had contacts in Arizona who grew into the other side of the partnership. Drs. Dina Brulles and Karen Brown became the champions for the project as well as part of the planning team, and were the individuals who planned and made sure the myriad decisions were made and the incredible number of details were seen to. The sheer amount of logistics associated with creating and running all aspects of the study was staggering. In addition, the planning and travel needed to span the 2,500 miles between Phoenix, Arizona, and Williamsburg, Virginia, required careful coordination, as it affected all aspects of the training of teachers and collection of data.

The study itself was originally designed to last 2 years. The early planning relative to logistics revealed that we needed to add a third year to the project, even though this had significant financial ramifications for the CFGE. This proved to be a very good decision relative to the study becoming fully realized. Two years did not allow for the building and extensions of relationships that were invaluable to the success of the project.

For more than two years, the collaboration progressed remarkably well. In fact, I was amazed at how seamless its progression was. The dedication of our colleagues in Arizona could not have been greater or more impressive. Midway through the third year, I commented to a colleague, “This project has gone so smoothly, I keep waiting for a shoe to drop.” Within a week of that joking observation, the teachers in the district went on strike. I supported the teachers’ concerns wholeheartedly, but I could not help but worry how it might hurt the project as the final data gathering across all groups was only three weeks away. Fortunately, the strike ended in about a week’s time and the teachers returned to work. Even after experiencing such a concerning event as a strike, the teachers came back, got their bearings, and completed the study and the school year. All of this was done with grace and care. What a team! What a collaboration.

School personnel have so much responsibility on their plates—accountability activities and testing expectations to name but two—collaborating with university researchers may seem like just too much. Especially in these times of limited grant support, researchers have difficulty offering schools an attractive reason to be involved. Through the collaboration built between the CFGE and Paradise Valley Schools, both researchers and schools benefited. By sharing our stories here, we hope more such cooperative efforts may be engendered.

I am honored to have played a part in this outstanding collaboration among professional educators who came together for the benefit of future students with gifts and talents. I want to thank my wonderful colleagues from William & Mary and the Paradise Valley Schools—they were terrific. I also greatly appreciate Dr. Susan Johnsen for supporting this special issue of Gifted Child Today, wherein the nuances of this wonderful collaboration have been revealed in detail. We hope that, by sharing this level of detail, other collaborations can be created.