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(Bluefield)—A $50,000 grant award from the West Virginia Department of Education & the Arts and the Benedum Foundation will provide a valuable and substantial boost to the Bluefield Professional Development Schools (PDS) consortium. The Bluefield PDS focuses upon enhancing the preparation of teacher education candidates, enhancing instructional services to students, and providing collaborative professional development activities.
“This grant is the largest award ever received by our PDS and will underwrite a variety of initiatives involving members of our consortium,” observed Dr. Betsy Steenken, BSC Teacher Education Program Director and the grant’s project director. Montcalm Elementary and Montcalm High School recently joined Whitethorn Elementary, Bluefield Middle, Bluewell Elementary, Princeton Primary, and Bluefield Intermediate schools and BSC in the consortium.
Brian Perkins, a faculty member at Bluewell Elementary School, is the public schools’ chair of the PDS Consortium. Sandy Puckett, a retired school administrator, serves as the consortium’s liaison, visiting each school and sharing information throughout the year.
“New leadership directed at making the most of PDS opportunities has led to the awareness of new possibilities, bringing back energy and new ideas,” Steenken explained. “The mission of developing quality educators is the focus through communication and increased understanding between BSC and its public school partners. There is a renewed sense of collaboration and optimism.”
“These grants sustain that momentum,” Steenken added. “We will continue to offer mini-grants to member schools this year. Our PDS schools are the primary sites for the field experiences of our teacher education students.”
October 24, 2007
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