Professional Development Schools

College faculty, school administrators, and practicing teachers deliberate on how to cooperatively supervise pre-service teachers and provide closer connections to classroom practice, promote professional development for in-service teachers, improve student learning, and research educational practice for school reform.

Critical aspects of our program involve creating and maintaining a collaborative community partnership with urban, suburban, and rural school districts; collaboratively identifying, developing, and refining practices that promote student achievement; supporting initial preparation and continuing professional development for teachers and other school based educators; and supporting teacher inquiry to improve pupil and educator development. This is accomplished while Elementary Education, Exceptional Education, Secondary Education, and Content majors gain a variety of experiences, ranging from classroom observation and tutoring to methods and student teaching placements at established PDS sites.

The Professional Development Schools Consortium is a network of many partnerships. PDS partners include schools where the school and SUNY Buffalo State personnel work in concert to facilitate high levels of learning by all students.  PDS Partners also include colleges which are jointly registered with Buffalo State.  As such, NCCC is an active member in the Consortium.  The Consortium also teams with several organizations that promote excellence in education within Buffalo State - the Center for Excellence in Urban and Rural Education (CEURE), and Project Flight - and across Western New York.

TEUPAC, the PDS Advisory Board and governing body of the Consortium, meets 6-7 times per year.

The PDS model at Buffalo State follows the standards established by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (2001) and the NAPDS Nine Essentials (2008), and NCATE'S Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships (2010).

At SUNY Buffalo State the Teacher Education Unit has many schools and centers that participate in our partnerships. For instance the Department of Elementary Education and Reading has established partnerships with over 45 schools  to house our PDS Methods courses and student teaching cohorts each semester. The Exceptional Education and Content Area Education departments also have PDS schools to support their programs. Student teaching is offered at locations across WNY, with some placements available in the New York City area. Teacher Candidates in all educator preparation programs can be placed in urban, suburban and/or rural situations, giving them the opportunity to experience a variety of settings for maximum learning potential.

The SUNY Buffalo State PDS is an active, award-winning Consortium.  This success is largely due to the collaboration of our professional learning community. The BS PDS holds an annual retreat, at which PDS partners, faculty, and students present their current year’s research projects for review and discussion.  Much of the research that comes out of these “mini-grant” projects is further presented at state and national level conferences and is published in professional journals.

The PDS has received local, state and national awards for excellence. The 2011 Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement was awarded to the Buffalo State Professional Development School (PDS) Consortium by the National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS).  View Story

In addition the Buffalo State Professional Development Schools Consortium received the 2013 Spirit of Partnership Award from the University of South Carolina at the National Conference.  Bruce Field presented Leslie Day and the Buffalo State Consortium with a beautiful glass sculpture.  He highlighted the innovative work done by the PDS, its extensive network, its 8 year involvement with NAPDS, and its  initiatives with global PDS as reasons for the award.

The PDS continues to expand into local community centers and throughout the Buffalo State Teacher Education Unit. Most recently, the PDS has gone global with sites in Chile, Zambia, Italy, Dominican Republic and more to come.  Please visit our link to IPDS.