CPIE Overview

The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education (CPIE) works collaboratively with schools, businesses, families, and the greater community to improve student outcomes in South Carolina. Located in the College of Charleston’s School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, it was established in 2005 to support the improvement of PK–12 education through partnerships.

The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education and the Charleston County School District entered into an agreement to improve the educational outcomes for selected schools in the district. This partnership model will be scaled up for use in school districts across the state. The Center for Partnerships’ goals are to:

• Improve performance and reduce the drop-out rates of students
• Increase enrollment of minority and low-income students in institutions of higher learning
• Prepare youth for employment in the 21st century workforce
• Re-engage disaffected students in education
• Educate teacher candidates to work effectively in low-performing schools and to seek employment in such schools
• Establish expectations, incentives, and professional development for teachers to make a long-term commitment to work in low-performing schools
• Improve understanding in higher education and businesses of the issues limiting urban and rural students’ futures and identify ways to address these issues

The Center is comprised of three strands that include Teaching and Learning (Dr. Paula Egelson), Research (Dr. Steven Thomas), and Community Outreach (Dr. Andrew Lewis). Burke faculty, College of Charleston faculty, and community members are encouraged to participate in any of the three strands. Content area professors from the College of Charleston work collaboratively with school faculty to support the work of the Teaching and Learning strand. Joint research projects are underway that help improve teaching and learning student motivation. The Community Outreach strand brings together the school, the College of Charleston, and the greater community. The Center's planning team is comprised of selected teachers and administrators, College of Charleston faculty, school personnel, and a South Carolina Department of Education representative.

In its first year (2005–2006), the Center for Partnerships to Improve Education initiated the following at Burke High School: an intensive tutoring program for tenth-graders; a summer enrichment program for rising eighth- and tenth-graders, a dual enrollment course in English in conjunction with the College of Charleston; AP professional development; a community oral history project; an international club; and a science language project.

During the 2006–2007 school year, an end-of-the-year math rally took place; three tutoring programs were supported by College of College students; professional development for teachers was provided in math, science, and English; a summer reading program was continued; selected students were dually enrolled at the College of Charleston and Burke High School; a summer enrichment program for middle school and high school students was planned; Citizen-of-the-Month awards were given to seventh- and eighth-graders; ninth-graders created a book about the Burke community; high school students corresponded with Vietnamese students and wrote a book together; a ninth-grade leadership program for young women was initiated; and the middle school library classrooms were stocked with books. More information about the Center can be found at http://partnerships.cofc.edu/. Download the inaugural issue of Partnerships in Education magazine.

Mission

The mission of the Center for Partnerships to Improve Education is to improve students’ level of education achievement by creating effective partnerships among the College of Charleston, school districts, businesses, families, and the greater community. Located at the College of Charleston’s School of Education, Health, and Human Performance, it was established in 2005 to address improvement of K-12 education in South Carolina. The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education is a non-profit educational organization charged with addressing and resolving through collaborative effort, the conflicts that confront underachieving school communities.

Building Community Through Partnerships

Partnership models that work to improve student achievement tailor their approach based on the factors affecting their school communities. Ultimately their goals are the same: to change the way schools of education, the schools under their care, and the greater community interact with one another.

The following links provide information on successful partnership initiatives, their history, strategies, their effect on the community-at-large and, in particular, the schools whose successful academic outcomes they are charged with making a reality. These are two examples of several such models in action.

• University of Pennsylvania: http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/pennalexander/aboutus.htm
  • Closing the Achievement Gap: Partnerships for Successful Schools - PowerPoint presentation (requires the free PowerPoint Viewer to view)
• Johns Hopkins University: http://www.jhu.edu/

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the Center for Partnerships, please contact us:

Paula Egelson, Ed.D., Director, Center for Partnerships to Improve Education (843) 953-7629, egelsonp@cofc.edu

Andrew Lewis, Ph.D., Director, Professional Development in Education, Associate Professor, Physical Education and Health (843) 953-8250, lewisa@cofc.edu

Steven L. Thomas, Ph.D., Research and Policy Analyst (843) 953-1987, thomassl@cofc.edu