Networking Practitioners To Impact Teacher Education

A description is given of the Regional Partnership Program; a field-responsive; center-specific model established at the University of Northern Iowa; designed to oversee clinical field experiences for student teachers. The model involves six regional districts specifically located across the state which serve as the administrative units for the field program. All of the centers have a common structure to allow for program continuity. Several examples of this continuity include: (1) every center has a tenure track professor who is the administrator for all aspects of the center\u27s operation; (2) all centers have implemented a full semester student teaching curriculum; and (3) all center partnerships have established an advisory cadre of local educational practitioners; consisting of at least five professional educators from regional schools. Individual cadres are free to engage in projects they believe are pertinent to their needs. The center-specific component of this partnership program is designed to encourage creativity to respond to regional needs. Cadre involvement extends beyond clinical field experience activities because cadre members are involved in a variety of teacher education matters. Each regional partnership structures the student teaching clinical field experience in ways that best fit the regional district. (JD