CITES Overview

Established in 1996, the Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling is the facilitating unit for the BYU-Public School Partnership, supporting and promoting Partnership goals and objectives. CITES is located in the David O. McKay School of Education for the purpose of supporting Partnership programs and initiatives that improve both teacher education and public schooling. Through its three divisions--Professional Development, Educational Support, and Education Research--the Center serves the needs of the three entities which comprise the Partnership, as  listed in the section below.

Brigham Young University-Public School Partnership

The Partnership, which was formed in 1984, is a collaborative effort between three entities:

✦ The McKay School of Education
✦ Five public school districts--Alpine, Jordan, Nebo, Provo, and Wasatch
✦ Colleges and departments at BYU responsible for secondary teacher education

The foundational principles of the Partnership state that the improvement of public education requires teacher training institutions and public schools to collaborate  to simultaneously strengthen teacher education and K-12 student learning. The Partnership functions under the direction of a Governing Board comprised of the five district superintendents and the dean of the McKay School. A new partnership Vision and Commitment Statement was approved by the Governing Board in September 2012.  To view the document click here.  For more information about the partnership, click here. 

Educator Preparation Program

The Partnership collaborates with the Educator Preparation Program (EPP) to prepare undergraduate secondary teaching majors or minors. The EPP is BYU’s accreditation unit for teacher preparation, consisting of the McKay School and eight other BYU colleges (comprising 26 departments). More information on the EPP is available here.