Chelda Smith Kondo, professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Education and resident professor at the Maxfield Elementary Collaborative Learning School, recently spoke with KSTP-TV about the partnership between St. Thomas and St. Paul Public Schools.
From the story:
During this new partnership, St. Thomas staff will also conduct research, including how to reach children from different backgrounds, boost educational outcomes and close achievement gaps.
“We know there are specific needs that students have and so we’re going to research, how do we make sure those needs are met? We’re really going to be looking for what works at Maxfield and how do we amplify and sustain it,” Smith Kondo said.
She said that could be used to inform culturally relevant teaching practices, not only at St. Thomas, but at universities nationwide.
chelda smith kondo, university of st. thomas professorWe recognize that in a post-pandemic world, students are functioning and operating differently.
“We recognize that in a post-pandemic world, students are functioning and operating differently,” she said. “We need to retool and we think the best way to do that is to learn from schools that are trying to make sense of this and evolve in a post-pandemic world, in a post-George Floyd world. At the same time, we know that we do have some things that have historically worked and continue to work from the teacher education side, so we’re hoping that coming in here, we can partner to where we’re having an exchange.”
