Initiative for Educational Renewal
State Farm Insurance® Company Foundation Grant NEIGHBORS Project—National Engagement to Induct Growth and Housing: Building Organizations for Residents and Students

The Initiative for Education Renewal will leverage placement of teacher candidates (resident interns) in yearlong Professional Development Schools thereby, integrating their university learning with on-the-job learning. As a by-product of the integration, university faculty will partner with resident interns and P–12 faculty and students. The partnership will involve the following:

  • school-based action research on teaching and learning;
  • focused professional development of teachers and administrators; and
  • infusion of best practices with university instruction.

In addition, full-year resident interns will provide much needed professional assistance in classrooms and communications among school, home, and community. At the same time, the University will experiment with and refine a preparation model for teacher preparation. As the University studies the impact of this significant school-and-community based approach to teacher preparation, the results will be used to inform and improve its own urban teacher preparation practices and will be effectively disseminated at both state and national levels.

This program emphasizes the preparation of current resident interns for careers as urban teachers and recruitment of students from Chicago neighborhoods to Illinois State University to go to college and become teachers who return to their neighborhood or to other Chicago neighborhoods to teach. In this way, Illinois State University, State Farm, and their partners will be contributing to the bright future of changing neighborhoods by making the most important investment possible—an investment in people.

Note: Resident intern refers to PDS student teachers and teacher candidate refers to general ISU student teachers.