Now its sixth year, the Miami University-Talawanda School District partnership has expanded and those involved can see a tangible difference in the quality of relationships between the university and its neighboring public schools.
"In the 23 years I've worked as an administrator in Talawanda, I've witnessed many positive relationships and activities with faculty from Miami and Talawanda that enriched the educational programs for the students in Talawanda," said Phil Cagwin, superintendent of the Talawanda School District. "However, those activities were not particularly focused or strategic for the benefit of Talawanda students."
But those involved with this partnership see it as working.
Both Miami and Talawanda are affiliated with the National Network for Educational Renewal and the Institute for Educational Inquiry, which facilitates partnerships between schools and university communities throughout the country. Tom Poetter, an education professor at Miami, and Jean Eagle, a Talawanda administrator, serve as co-chairs.
Though the partnership is complex, it has assisted in simple tasks such as Miami loaning Talawanda portable bleachers for Talawanda's home football games to supporting the maintenance of a foreign language program and the America Reads series.
For example, Miami provides funding and support to Melissa Metzger, a math teacher at Talawanda who has worked with the university's department of mathematics and statistics, on creating an Advanced Placement (AP) calculus curriculum at Talawanda. New research and funding has improved the AP program at Talawanda High School, which currently offers four AP classes.
The Entry-Year Teacher Mentoring Program demonstrates that the partnership benefits not just students, but also faculty. Faculty and staff at Miami volunteer to become partners with entry-year Talawanda teachers, and the program takes its own shape depending on each team's needs or wishes.
According to Eagle, Most schools have some form of a faculty-mentoring program within their district, but Talawanda's is unique.
"(Talawanda has) expanded that to include (Miami University), which not only helps teachers establish connections but also helps them realize the vast resources of the academic community at Miami," Eagle said.
In addition, the partnership has worked with the King Library to provided 50 access cards to Talawanda teachers for one-year periods beginning in 2006.
According to Cagwin, the partnership serves to benefit teachers at both Miami and Talawanda.
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Students who wish to become involved with programs sponsored by the partnership can do so through the Adopt-A-School program offered through the service-learning program at the Hanna House.
Adopt-A-School tutors work with Talawanda students, assisting with homework and preparing students for tests such as the Ohio Graduation Test while serving as informal mentors. For the 2005-06 school year, more than 1,000 Talawanda students received mentoring in some form.
This year, the program restructured the tutoring process; tutor placement among students is no longer random.
"I am appreciative of all of the tutoring time that is donated by Miami students with our elementary students," Cagwin said. "I have to believe that the additional help in reading and math helps our youngsters improve their academic performance."
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