Changing Mental Frameworks: One High School's Success through a Triad Partnership
Formation of the Triad Partnership
In the Partnership Schools Initiative (PSI), each selected school, its regional education service center, and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) are seen as partners working toward the same goals. In the south Texas area known as Region One, five participating schools work with a PSI coordinator at the regional education service center. They receive logistical support from the PSI coordinator and financial support from TEA. The initiative infuses dollars not otherwise available to the partnership schools; special funds, for example, made it possible for the principals from all five schools to attend leadership training arranged by the PSI coordinator. Acting as an external facilitator, the PSI coordinator also assists each school on an individual basis. For PSJA, for example, she has helped to plan and conduct a series of monthly staff development sessions.
This initiative allows partnership schools greater flexibility. Placing relative emphasis on outcomes, TEA has de-emphasized state control of the process for achieving desired outcomes. It has made the waiver application process easier for selected schools, so that they can more readily obtain waivers of rules and regulations. For PSJA, the limit on days devoted to staff development was increased from six to 10. This is one way that TEA has promoted more flexibility in policies and procedures that govern school operations.
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