McKay School of Education > Deans > McKay School of Education :: Public School Partnership

Public School Partnership

The Brigham Young University-Public School Partnership (BYU-PSP) is a joint venture between the McKay School of Education and the School Districts of Alpine, Jordan, Nebo, Provo and Wasatch. This 24-year-old partnership is a setting of the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER). The foundational principle of the NNER and the Partnership states that the improvement of public education requires teacher training institutions and public schools to work collaboratively to affect positive change in teacher education and K-12 student learning.

The participating districts educate about one third of Utah’s school children (approximately 180,000) and employ over 7,000 teachers. Brigham Young University annually graduates approximately 900 teachers and 40 administrative candidates.

The facilitating arm for the initiatives of the BYU-PSP is the Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling (CITES). The CITES office is located on the BYU campus, within the McKay School of Education.

The Governing Board for the Partnership includes the superintendents of the five participating school districts, the dean of the McKay School of Education, and the executive director of CITES. This board collaboratively identifies needs that can be most effectively addressed by the combined efforts of the university and the school districts. Partnership initiatives fall under four categories: professional development, partnership programs, grants and funding, and research and publications.

The effectiveness of the Partnership is based on mutual trust and respect of the partners, as relationships are built, resources are shared, and collaboration and honest communication take place. Through this process and consensus, growth and improvement have occurred, thus bringing about positive change in teacher education as well as student learning--at both the university and public school levels.