Ossining Superintendent Receives Partnership Award from Pace School of Education

The Pace University School of Education on Tuesday awarded its prestigious Partnership Award to Ossining School District Superintendent Raymond Sanchez.

Xiao-lei Wang, dean of the School of Education, along with faculty and staff members, value strong partnerships within the field, said Phyllis Glassman, the school’s coordinator of professional development.

“We have the highest regard for the school district and Mr. Sanchez and for all of the wonderful work that’s going on in the Ossining School District,” Dr. Glassman said.

The School of Education and the Ossining district have collaborated in a number of areas. For example, they launched a college initiative a number of years ago in which all fifth-graders visit Pace for a day. The younger students tour the campus and get an early initiation on the college experience and expectations.

Superintendent Sanchez and the school district have been very welcoming to School of Education student teachers. The superintendent is a proponent of Ossining teachers mentoring Pace student teachers and interns who are working in the district. Ossining has hired many School of Education graduates.

“Our partnership with the Pace University School of Education benefits everyone,” the superintendent said. “Our students experience unique educational opportunities at Pace, our teachers receive assistance from Pace education students and mentor them, and Pace students gain experience and learn while working in the field.”

“We look forward to continuing and strengthening our relationship with the School of Education,” he added.

Other successful partnerships include:

• The Book Worm Project, in which Pace students work with Brookside teachers by tutoring students who aren’t reading at grade level.
• A Saturday Science Academy for Ossining students, a successful initiative that concluded last year. The students took a Saturday class taught by university professors.
• The Avatar Initiative, in which early career Ossining teachers worked with mentor teachers to develop and refine instructional skills. They did this through Pace’s TeachLivE avatar technology. The project concluded last year.
• Superintendent Sanchez is an active participant in the School of Education’s Teacher Education Council, which brings together educators and Pace staff members to discuss what is going well in the field and what Pace can do to better prepare its students.

The School of Education and Ossining are in discussions about a new student-teaching initiative this fall. Ossining would provide additional support and professional development for Pace’s student teachers, and they would gain experience outside the school day. The hope is that some Ossining teachers would become adjunct professors.

“We believe that this initiative could serve as a model for other school districts,” Dr. Glassman said.