Upcoming Events:

Middle Level Teacher Education Symposium

Date:  May 21-23, 2008
Location:  College of Charleston campus
For More Information: Contact David Virtue or read the Symposium Registration form.

CPIE Research Retreat

Date:  July 21-23, 2008
Location:  College of Charleston campus
Summary: The Center for Partnerships' Research team will be participating in a research retreat on the CofC campus. Dr. Charles Achilles, an Ed. Leadership professor at Seton Hall University, will be leading the three-day event.

Baptist Hill High School Professional Development

Date:  August 4-6, 2008
Location:  College of Charleston campus
Summary: Baptist Hill High School, in partnership with the Center for Partnerships, will be holding its back-to-back professional development for faculty on the CofC campus.

Event Archives:

Educating the Whole Child School Improvement Conference

Date:  March 3, 2008
Location:  College of Charleston campus
Summary: One hundred Tri-County area administrators, teachers, College of Charleston students, and professors gathered in the College of Charleston's Stern Student Center for this conference.

Keynote speaker Clifton Taulbert, president and founder The Building Community Institute and author of Eight Habits of the Heart, spoke about building community in school and how this relates to work in the classroom. The attendees broke into grade-alike discussion groups to talk about how they can implement the Eight Habits of the Heart in their classrooms and their schools.

Breakout sessions were organized by academics, physical health, and emotional/social health strands. Representatives from local nonprofit organizations provided information about their offerings to schools, and College of Charleston professors presented on school nutrition and non-violent crisis intervention.

In addition, Steve Thomas, from the College of Charleston, presented the School Improvement Grant posters. Renee Byrd, from James Island Middle Grades Acceleration Program, along with 15 of her students, talked about their success in school. The Westview Middle School Jazz Band (Goose Creek) played at the reception while the attendees discussed what they had learned during the day.

Meet the Author of Freedom Writers

Date: November 14, 2007
Location: The College of Charleston campus
Summary: The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education is co-sponsoring an event called Meet the Author of Freedom Writers. The event will begin at 4:15 with a showing of the Freedom Writers movie, followed by a reception and book signing, and concluding with a presentation by Erin Gruwell, author of Freedom Writers. Cost for adults is $15; cost of K–16 students is $5; and there is no charge for College of Charleston faculty, students, and partner schools.

Teachers in Film Conference

Date: October 25–27, 2007
Location: The College of Charleston campus
Summary: The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education is co-sponsoring a Teachers in Film conference on October 25–27, 2007. The conference will take place on the College of Charleston campus. For more information, please contact Dr. Terence Bowers at (843) 953-6382 or bowers@cofc.edu.

Community Outreach Team Meetings

Date:  Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Location:  Burke High School Band Room

Making Connections—Educators In Action: A School Improvement Conference for PreK-12 Educators and Teacher Educators

Date: March 8–9, 2007
Location: Stern Center, College of Charleston
Summary of Event: The Center for Partnerships' hosted their second annual school improvement conference, which brought together best practices in active teaching and learning, school reform, community and parent involvement, leadership, and technology integration. This professional development opportunity addressed school-wide innovation.

Center for Partnerships Research Group Meeting—Featuring Dr. Charles Achilles

Date: October 12, 2006, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Jewish Studies Center (Arnold Hall)
Summary of Event: Dr. Achilles, a professor of Educational Leadership at Eastern Michigan University and Seton Hall University, is a prolific researcher and author with more than 400 professional publications. He has extensive experience in researching and evaluating effective schools, served as the principal investigator for the STAR class size study, and has led or contributed to numerous studies on teaching. This meeting was open to the public.

Burke High School Open House

Date: August 21, 2006, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Burke High School Media Center, 244 President Street, Charleston
Summary of Event: The school community was invited to meet Burke High School’s new principal, Charles Benton, along with faculty and staff members of Burke High.

Burke Partners Meeting

Date: July 25, 2006
Location: Stern Student Center, College of Charleston
Summary of Event: Representatives from greater Charleston's business, civic, religious, and education organizations met on campus to share information about their support of Burke High School. Groups had the opportunity to talk about their programs, learn about school improvement efforts, and meet the school's new principal, Charles Benton. View the meeting synopsis.

Closing the Achievement Gap School Improvement Workshop with Dr. Belinda Williams

Date: July 17–18, 2006, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: College of Charleston, Charleston
Summary of Event: This two-day seminar examined the current reform agenda found in the No Child Left Behind Act and examined strategies for re-framing the agenda to support an asset-based framework for increasing the academic achievement of low-performing, socio-economically disadvantaged, culturally diverse children. It was facilitated by Dr. Belinda Williams, co-author and editor of Closing the Achievement Gap: A Vision for Changing Beliefs and Practices (ASCD, 1996, 2003), whose research and publications focus on the impact of cultural environments on cognitive development and student engagement, and the implications for educational practice and reform.

Summer Enrichment Program

Date: June 5– June 16, and July 31–August 1, 2006
Location: Burke High and College of Charleston campuses and greater Charleston
Summary of Event: The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education, in conjunction with Burke High School, held its first Summer Enrichment program. Charleston’s Past, Present, and Future was the theme of this summer’s study, which gave rising eighth- and tenth-graders the opportunity to experience Charleston from an entirely new perspective, weaving classroom and field exploration with language arts, history, art, and environmental science. In addition, students had the opportunity to talk with career counselors and instructors at the College of Charleston. View the photo album.

Critical Issues in K–12 Urban Education

Date: March 17-18, 2006
Location: Francis Marion Hotel
Summary of Event: The Center for Partnerships to Improve Education hosted its first annual conference, March 17–18, in Charleston, South Carolina. Critical Issues in PK–12 Urban Education offered a comprehensive array of sessions in Curriculum and Instruction, School Improvement, Community Involvement, Research, and Policy. View the full conference proceedings in PDF form (requires the free Acrobat Reader).

For More Information: Contact Mrs. Melanie Hofmann at (843) 953-2742.