A Tale of Two Cultures: Schools and Universities in Partnership for School Reform and Student Success

Abstract

School and university partnerships are a key strategy for reforming education and increasing college going. Successful programs such as GEAR UP demonstrate the need to expand these relationships. Yet, practitioners find it is difficult to work between these two very different contexts. This paper explores successful practices for navigating between the university and school cultures such as ensuring leadership, developing a shared vision, creating memorandum of understanding, conducting extensive planning and evaluation.