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Defining K-20 Partnerships

July 2, 2007

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and calls to improve pre-service teacher education have prompted policymakers to rethink models of instructional improvement and teacher preparation. One model involves partnerships between K-12 districts and institutes of higher education, or “K-20 partnerships.” Susan Millar and Matt Clifford offer a definition that has been until now lacking: A K-20 partnership is an organization that is formed through a formalized agreement among partners, comprising at least one actively-engaged college/university and one actively-engaged K-12 school district, and is intended to accomplish mutual benefits that the partners, alone, could not accomplish. Having a solid definition enables evaluators to determine whether National Science Foundation and the U.S. Education Department grantees accomplished funded work; what roles, if any, partnerships played in achieving desired ends; and, ultimately, if the NSF and US ED theory of action has merit. More information is available here (PDF).