UEI - Teacher Partnership Agreement

UEI-Teacher Partnership Agreement

NOTE: Your application will not be complete until you read the following and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

Field Studies Implementation

Teacher’s Role
A “UEI teacher” is any teacher who implements UEI-created curricula and participates in UEI-designed professional development opportunities throughout the academic year. All UEI teachers upon the signing of this agreement will be eligible to receive all the support outlined below and are additionally required to adhere to certain standards of UEI policy outlined below.

UEI aims to help each UEI teacher to become confident using the UEI Field Studies curriculum as an enhancement of her/his primary or required curricula. More specifically, UEI expects each teacher to 1) take the lead on lesson planning and implementation and to 2) participate in the UEI teacher community via attendance at workshops and student conferences, and participation in our (forthcoming) online teacher community; UEI will provide the support and professional development outlined below to help teachers achieve the goals stated above. Additionally, teachers will be asked to administer pre- and post- student assessments and to adhere to certain implementation guidelines that are meant to ensure the safe enjoyment of the field studies curriculum and field protocols.

Safety
Under UEI policy, teachers are restricted from taking students outdoors to do field studies if the forecasted temperature is below 20°F during the time of the planned field visit or if there is heavy rain, sleet or snow.

Student Conferences
UEI holds two seasonal, large-scale student conferences. The Student Urban Gathering on Ecology (SURGE!), held in March, is offered as an opportunity to assist students with experimental design and to give students an opportunity practice public speaking skills. The Annual Student Research Conference (ASRC), held in May, is offered as an opportunity for students to present research done during the school year. Participation in UEI’s student conferences are encouraged as guideposts throughout the year. Additionally, UEI is currently piloting a student conference calendar that features more small-scale student gathers or research symposia; these gatherings will be site-specific, allowing students to learn about their field site from peers who are working at the same site.

Professional Development

Workshops
As the central component of individual professional development and UEI teacher community development, consistent participation in UEI workshops is required of all UEI teachers. Workshops will be offered on topical issues throughout the school year, usually spaced 6-8 weeks apart. Participation in workshops is tied to stipend distribution and to PDP awards (see below for more details).

Summer Institute
UEI’s Summer Institute is a 16-day summer workshop offered for teachers who want in-depth content training in the foundations of urban ecology. The Summer Institute, which can also be taken for course credit out of the Boston College Lynch School of Education, is strongly encouraged for teachers who are interested in supplementing their field studies curriculum with technologically-advanced methods of data collection and analysis. Participants in the Summer Institute are eligible to receive up to 112 PDPs and a stipend, separate from the stipends outlined below, of $700 per week.

In-Class and Materials Support

Consultation/Planning
Each UEI teacher will meet with the UEI In-School Education Program Manager at least once per semester in order to set and evaluate professional development and classroom implementation goals. The In-School Program Manager will be tasked with maintaining an on-going record of individual UEI teachers in order to provide teacher-specific professional support.

Field Assistants
UEI provides an AmeriCorps*VISTA member or a community volunteer to teachers who meet necessary eligibility requirements. The proper application of each type of field assistant is detailed below. UEI will perform a CORI background check on all field assistants before assigning them to teachers.

AmeriCorps*VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America):

VISTAs are assigned to teachers as deemed appropriate by the UEI In-School Program Manager. Priority is given to teachers in the Boston Public Schools district. When VISTAs are visiting classrooms, their role is to provide in-class support via 1) content guidance and 2) materials support. VISTAs are not intended as assistant teachers or lesson planners and are not to be used as such. VISTAs should not be doing more curricular planning and teaching than is necessary for teachers to feel comfortable facilitating lessons independently. Additionally, VISTAs are not ever allowed to be left alone with students, and VISTAs should not be visiting any particular classroom more than an average of one visit per week. VISTAs are not allowed to visit a classroom when a substitute teacher is in charge, unless it is a long-term substitute who has agreed to all relevant portions of the UEI teacher partnership agreement.

Community Volunteers:

UEI is currently expanding its volunteer program in order to offer adult volunteers to teachers who need field assistance primarily as an extra set of hands and eyes in the classroom. As with the VISTAs, Community Volunteers cannot be left alone with students and cannot VISTA classrooms when a substitute is in charge.

School Year Implementation Stipend
UEI teachers in the Boston Public Schools district are awarded a $300 per semester in appreciation of the extra effort that is required to implement the field studies curriculum. Teachers who participate in implementation of stipended NSF-funded curriculum implementation projects, such as the Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) and Instruction Materials Development (IMD) projects, will be ineligible for receiving a School Year Implementation UEI stipend.

Workshop Attendance and Program Evaluation Stipend
Additional stipends are offered to all UEI teachers for participation in workshops ($30/workshop). Stipends will be distributed in a lump sum in December and June each year.

Summer Stipend
A separate stipend is offered for participants in the Summer Institute. Please see the Summer Institute section of this agreement for more information on summer stipend terms.

Professional Development Points
All UEI teachers who complete at least 10 hours of professional development are eligible to receive Professional Development Points at a rate of one point per hour of participation. PDPs will be administered at the end of the school year (unless otherwise requested by the teacher) upon receipt of two UEI-based lesson plans. The In-School Education Program Manager will send out PDP notices and lesson plan templates in late June (after the last UEI workshop of the school year).

Program Evaluation

End-of-Year Teacher Survey
Each UEI teacher is strongly encouraged (and politely requested) to complete the end-of-year teacher assessment, a multiple choice survey designed to evaluate the impact of UEI’s programming on teacher practice and professional self-efficacy. Data gathered from the quantitative assessment is central to all programmatic restructuring efforts.

Pre- and Post- Student Assessment
Each teacher is required to administer a pre- and post- student assessment at the beginning and end of each school year with each of her/his classes and, where possible, with control classrooms. The student survey typically numbers between 40-50 multiple choice items that assess scales such as student confidence in science, student sense of stewardship and student awareness of environmental careers. Teachers who run the assessment in control classrooms will receive a $50 gift card to either Staples, Home Depot or Best Buy in recognition of the class time spent on the survey.