The academy will model professional development designed to meet the needs and interests of a particular rural location. Housed at TERC, this project is funded by the National Science Foundation. The National Network of Partnership-2000 Schools is headed by Joyce Epstein at Johns Hopkins University. The Center provides training, a manual, research and guidance. Partnerships are most successful when teachers, family members, adminis-trators and community members all work together as a team.
Partnerships take time.
Partnerships improve incrementally. Partnerships are important throughout the grades. Needs of families and students change as students grow older but the need for partnerships remains constant. Partnerships need students. Student involvement is important, since they are they very reason for creating partnerships in the first place.