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Since 1999, Project SITE SUPPORT (PSS) has made unmatched contributions to the Baltimore City Public School System by recruiting and developing hundreds of highly qualified teachers who were specially trained to meet the diverse learning needs of students in this challenging urban environment.
This unique partnership of Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and the Baltimore City Public School System created lasting change that will be experienced by stakeholders for many years.
Through this program funded by the United States Department of Education, PSS teachers were vigorous recruited and academically prepared by the partner universities in Master’s degree certification programs. These teachers were supported in the classroom through extensive mentoring and professional development programs that focused on creating a positive impact on the school culture because of their dispositions, dedication to teaching, content competency, and sincere commitment to the school system. An Electronic Learning Community offered additional support by providing university faculty, teachers, mentors, and supervisors with a virtual; space to engage in collegial discussions, mentoring, and access to a wealth of resources.
Currently, more than ten percent of the teachers in the Baltimore City Public School System are products of the PSS program. Each year, many PSS teachers followed in the footsteps of their mentors and became emerging teacher-leaders in their schools.
As federal funding is phased out in 2004, each university partner continues to search for and implement innovative ways to sustain the lessons learned in order to maintain this exceptional alternative route to a career in teaching.
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