Our education experts collaborate every day with teachers, school administrators and civic leaders to improve outcomes for all students. The future of our schools — and our region — depends on it.
New partnership empowers principals to ‘dream big’
The principals at seven local schools are poised to achieve big goals after participating in the SLPS Principal Redesign Fellowship, a bold new partnership between St. Louis Public Schools and the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis.
Education collaborative bridges gaps between local researchers and teachers
The St. Louis School Research-Practice Collaborative (SRPC) brings together education researchers from local universities and practitioners from city schools to tackle some of the most difficult questions facing the St. Louis education community. After almost three years of development, the SRPC began its first pilot project in September 2021.
Mud pies, math and mess with meaning
Early childhood math skills are important predictors of later academic achievement, but opportunities for young children to engage in math learning are extremely limited in preschool.
With support from the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis (ISP), the JGECEC teaching team is making sure their new mud kitchen and curriculum throughout the building are planned with early math learning in mind.
Partnering for restorative justice in University City schools
Since 2014, University City High School has reduced suspensions by more than 40% and dramatically changed its school culture. Rowhea Elmesky, associate professor of education, and Olivia Marcucci, PhD ’19, helped make it happen.
ISP program helps math students find new ways to solve real-world problems
Institute for School Partnership’s STEM District Immersion program helps students form a deep conceptual understanding to math that goes far beyond rote problem-solving. By posing real-world problems, students engage in high-level math discourse, explore multiple solutions and take intellectual risks. Read more at the Institute for School Partnership.
ISP pilots science program in SLPS
Last summer, four organizations came together to launch a new program in 17 St. Louis Public elementary schools. The Institute for School Partnership (ISP), The Little Bit Foundation (TLBF), and St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), with funding from the Bayer Fund, developed a pilot program to increase capacity for STEM teaching and learning in SLPS. The program is designed to remove barriers for teachers and provide access to high-quality, hands-on STEM education for St. Louis City students
Disrupt to Rebuild: TLI and SLPS redefining models of leadership and accountability
The Transformational Leadership Initiative has partnered with two Saint Louis Public elementary schools, Ashland and Meramec, to challenge traditional educational models of top-down leadership.
Building Pathways: U. City embraces distributed leadership
The School District of University City has taken a big leap in developing the next generation of transformational school leaders. Last summer, it named Jessica Hawkins and Deitra Colquitt co-principals of Pershing Elementary School. Both served as Teacher Instructional Leaders prior to their advancement. They credit the Transformational Leadership Initiative, a multi-year effort designed to […]
Check out STEM Challenges, fun activities for home
As we transition to distance learning, a consistent request from teachers has been for science activities that are engaging and not a set of “packets.” The Institute for School Partnership in collaboration with The Little Bit Foundation created these challenges with the goal of engaging students of all ages and their families in fun, interactive activities. Be sure to check back as we are frequently updating this page with more STEM Challenges.
COVID-19 and Race: Educational Equity in a New Era
When COVID-19 forced schools to change how they facilitated learning, long-standing race and class divides in our educational systems became more distinct than ever. The Clark-Fox Policy Institute lead a discussion with Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, superintendent of University City School District; Terry Harris, executive director of student services at Rockwood School District; Sherita Love, founding director […]