0.6 Cunniff, d. (september 2011). university partnerships with  (Page 4/7)

Memoranda of agreement

More formal partnerships have been developed with school districts and universities in the form of Memoranda of Agreement or Understanding (MOA’s or MOU’s). Here the university and the school district enter into an agreement of mutual support for a student or program. Most often this is used for student intern assignments or cohort classes that are formed on the school or district premises. Another type of agreement is one that is signed by the school representative, a university representative and the student. These representatives are the student’s supervisors and the agreement states that the university and school will work with the student for a specific period of time on a specific program offering the student practical experience in that particular program area.

E-mentoring

With the advent of the internet, new opportunities have opened in the area of guidance and counseling. One such opportunity started by the Fresno Unified School District in the Central Valley of California, is called “E-Mentoring.” Here a university professor is matched with a junior or senior high school student and meets on a regular basis over the internet to discuss any issues the student wishes. The mentor is carefully screened and finger printed by the county and the coordinator may arrange a face-to-face meeting in order to get a good match. In some cases, this meeting takes place over the Internet using Skype or another video conferencing platform. Mentors are available 24/7 to assist the mentee with any of their issues. This has worked well and is now in its fourth year of operation (Reynoso, 2008).

Linking theory and practice

When universities partner with schools and school districts, they are bridging the gap between the schools and “the ivory tower.” Sarah Pirtle, the co-editor and primary author of Partnership Education in Action, contends that partnership processes can help provide building blocks of healthy experiences of nurturing respectful human interactions. She goes on to say in her introduction of a “partnership model” that any social situation can be structured either to encourage “linking” and power with others, or structured to encourage ”ranking” and power over others. As we apply this to education, our partnership can be described as the partnership becoming increasingly conscious of the entire group and the way we affect each other and in turn, help the school to be increasingly conscious of the whole community. Partnership education tends to be positive and fosters a culture of success in learning rather than the fear of failure. A partnership is a process of teaching and learning that is based on mutual respect (Pirtle, 2002).

Technology in partnerships

In any partnership experience, timely interaction is critical in making it a success. Technology has been and continues to be, instrumental in fostering this communication to multiple parties at lightning speed. From e-mails to video conferencing, technology has enhanced as well as facilitated the process of idea exchange.