School District and University Leadership Development Collaborations: How Do Three Partnerships Line Up With Best Practices?

Abstract

This article explores the application of Whitaker, King, and Vogel's (2004) best practices for the implementation of partnerships regarding school leadership preparation programs in 3 school district–university collaboratives located in urban settings with large minority student populations. The 3 partnerships studied include the Nashville Metropolitan School District and Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN), Prince George's County Public Schools and Howard University (Washington, DC, and Upper Marlboro, MD), and the San Diego Unified School District and San Diego State University (San Diego, CA). Five elements of Whitaker's best practices for implementing school district–university school leadership preparation programs were used to determine the extent to which the 3 partnerships were aligned with best practice. Document analysis was used to analyze the materials related to the 3 programs. Findings indicate that the 3 partnerships have successfully implemented 3 of the 5 best practices. Exemplary collaboration has occurred (a) in the development of high-quality curriculum and delivery of instruction and (b) the commitment of the partnerships to provide support to the participants through advising and other forms of assistance.