University of Michigan/Detroit partnership wins national honor

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan and the Detroit Public Schools have won this year’s Urban Impact Award for their partnership to improve teaching and learning of science for urban children.

The reform effort, organized by the U-M School of Education’s Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools, began by working with 13 Detroit teachers and 2,000 students in 1998-1999. The effort grew to serve 47 teachers and 8,000 students in 2003-2004, developing curriculum and testing as well as innovative uses of technology.

The program produced steady gains and also reduced the gender gap between middle school boys, who had scored significantly lower than girls on earlier science tests. Infusing a greater use of technology particularly aided the at-risk urban male students.

“We have strong evidence that highly developed curricula aligned with national standards and ongoing professional development can help students in urban schools in important ways when they are part of a systematic, collaborative reform effort,’’ the team stated in its application. The U-M team was led by Joseph Karjcik, a U-M science education professor.

The Council of the Great City Colleges of Education annually honors outstanding educational programs with the Urban Impact Award. The Urban Impact Award recognizes outstanding school-based projects, conducted by faculty from the member institutions of the Council of the Great City Colleges of Education in the Great City Schools, which have had a positive and significant impact on teaching and learning.

The Impact Award is given annually at the fall conference of the Great City Schools. A certificate of merit, a crystal bowl and $2,000 are given to the award-winning project. Each member institution may submit one college/school partnership team school-based project for consideration. Eligibility for the award is limited to projects that are being implemented in partnership with a Great City School. The project needs to be currently operating and have been in existence for at least two academic years.

Related links:

U-M’s Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools >

Council ofthe Great City Schools >