News Releases

New Rochelle, NY, April 2008 - Iona College has announced its partnership with Rice High School to establish a Professional Development School (PDS) which will create a learning community that serves students at Rice High School, their administrators and faculty, and the teacher candidates from the Education department at Iona College. “This is an ambitious initiative that will be beneficial to all involved. Iona College is proud to be a partner with Rice High School students and leadership. We are planning to launch our program in fall of 2008,” said Warren Rosenberg, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs for Iona College.

The PDS will have several goals and objectives. The first will be to enable training and development of the teacher candidates in the adolescence education programs in grades seven through twelve. Through additional instructional support student learning will be enhanced as will the provision for school-based faculty development. Rice High School will also be the site for inquiry-based research and development on the teaching and learning process. Iona will provide a professional educator to serve as mentor and supervisor to student teacher candidates assigned to Rice High school and to serve as the College’s liaison to Rice under the partnership. Funding for the PDS will be generated from a combination of sources including; federal and private grants, and the Iona College Education department budget. 

Through this relationship, teachers and other professionals at Rice will also have access to the professional expertise of the education and content area faculty at Iona along with access to Iona’s Information Technology expertise. “The affiliation between Rice High School and Iona College is the perfect combination for a successful partnership,” said Brother Christopher D. Hall, CFC, principal of Rice High School. Additional benefits of the partnership will include: the development of Bridge courses developed by Rice High School faculty and taught to Rice students on –site for Iona College credit; the opportunity for Rice students to take certain Link courses at Iona; and the opportunity for Rice students to participate in STEP (Science and Technology Entry Program) a New York State funded outreach program that Iona has operated for over twenty years.

The partnership will be a genuine two-way learning community, characterized by collaborative oversight and accountability and a mutual dedication to design the structures that will continue to support the learning and the development of the high school student, teacher candidates, faculty and other school professionals.

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For questions or more information please contact:
Dawn Insanalli
Public Relations Office
Iona College, 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801
tel: (914) 633-2005 fax: (914) 637-2711
dinsanalli@iona.edu

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