Professional Development School Network

The Professional Development School Network at William Paterson University has an established reputation for providing high quality job-embedded professional development and support for novice and experienced teachers and school leaders via the Professor in Residence and Leader in Residence models.  We have added a new level of professional support for schools through the Counselor in Residence program which provides a certified school counselor one day per week to support the mental health initiatives in your school.  The work of all these professionals is customized to the needs of the schools where they work.  William Paterson University works to match school needs to professionals’ expertise and experience.  If you are interested in learning more about this level of support for your school, please contact Margaret Renn at rennm@wpunj.edu. For preschool, please contact Cindy Gennarelli at gennarellic@wpunj.edu.

Check out PDS Activities Below!

A Lunar New Year Celebration for International High School Students

On Friday, January 27, members of the International Club of Paterson’s International High School attended a Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration held at Montclair State University. Paterson was one of six NJ school districts invited to attend.  Led by teachers, Tracy Hong Syz, Edred Bien-Aime and Ivan Rosa, and joined by the WPU Professor in Residence Jean Modig, the students enjoyed a full day at the festival celebrating the year of the rabbit.  Activities included melted sugar painting, calligraphy, beading, posing in traditional Mongolian costumes, playing shuttle cock, yo-yo juggling and chopsticks competitions. The group enjoyed musical and juggling performances by professionals as well as a delicious hot lunch hosted by NJTCA (New Jersey Chinese Teachers Association).   

Recognizing The Principals in our PDS Network of Schools in Honor of National Principals Month

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National Principals Month in October honors principals for their significant impact on the success and well-being of our nation’s students. 

The WP College of Education recently honored the dedicated principals in our collaborative PDS network of schools! The principals from these school district were in attendance-Bergenfield, Bogota, Center for Family Resources, Clifton,Hackensack, Palisades Park, Passaic, Paterson Public Schools, Paterson Charter School for Science & Technology, Passaic County Technical Institute, Northern Regional Education Services Commission, Weehawken and Woodland Park.

#ThankAPrincipal

PDS Schools and Field Trips to William Paterson - Take a look at the Virtual Scrap Books!

School 5, Music Performance

School 5, Science Class

School 12, Science Labs and Greenhouse

School 5 & 12, Cheng Library

Veterans Make Great Teachers!

The Veterans Affairs Office

CTE Alternate Route Program

PDS Network Teachers Participate in 2022 Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program!

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Dr. Carrie Hong, Professor in the College of Education/Educational Leadership & Professional Studies department, shared a photo of the participants of the 2022 Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program to India. This photo was taken at the Taj Mahal. Several of the participants in this prestigious program are teachers who work in the Paterson school district and are partners in our Professional Development School network.  Upon returning to NJ, sometime in the fall semester, the participants will share what they have learned from the trip.

Pictured from left to right: Ron Hoglund, Raje Kaur (WP), Vidya Kalaramadam (WP), Tracy Nelson (Paterson), Randa Saleh (Paterson Adult and Continuing Education), Karina Acosta (Paterson Adult and Continuing Education), Anyelis M. Diaz (Paterson International High School), Rashad A. Davis (Paterson Academy of Earth and Space Science), Carrie Hong (WP), Keumjae Park (WP), Jessica Hinds (Paterson School 28: Academy for the Gifted and the Talented), & Lauren Pickett (Paterson School 7 Joeseph A. Taub)

NAPDS Partnership Voices Features the Collaboration Between Paterson School 12 Teacher & WP College of Education Professor

Mrs. Anissa Conyers @Paterson_Public School 12, with 22 years of teaching experience and WP Professor Dr. Elizabeth Brown co-teach a field based-literacy course where teacher candidates teach third-graders reading and writing. For the past four semesters, Conyers and Brown have collaborated to transform students’ writing into stop-frame animation movies using the technology, HUE animation. Watch this episode of Partnership Voices featured in the NAPDS newsletter!

Professional Development & School Communities Partnerships 10th Annual Art Exhibit

The College of Education at William Paterson University recently hosted its 10th Annual Art Exhibit and reception for our Professional Development Schools (PDS) on May 12, 2022. Twelve pieces of  artwork were chosen from those submitted by students K-12 for permanent display in the College of Education building at 1600 Valley Road in Wayne. The 12 student artists, their families, and the art teachers who work with these students in their schools attended the reception.  Also in attendance were the WP Professors in Residence who work in the PDS network of schools and coordinated the artwork entries from the schools.  Nancy Norris Bauer and Susan Stansfield from the Professional Development & School Community Partnerships department hosted the reception. Dr. Amy Ginsberg, Dean of the College of Education, conducted the student awards ceremony which recognized the talented students with a Certificate of Achievement!  Congratulations to all of the students who entered their artwork for this Exhibit and for their passion for the arts!

Read Across America at Dr. Hani Awadallah School! 

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12th Annual NJ Professional Development Schools Virtual Conference – 2021 “Equity and Diversity in Our Schools”

The 12th Annual NJ Professional Development Schools Conference was held virtually on Wednesday, May 26 and Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021.  Dr. Howard, our keynote speaker for the 2021 PDS Conference, is a Professor and Associate Dean, Graduate School of Education UCLA and author of Why Race and Culture Matters in Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in America’s Classrooms. Breakout sessions were held on both days. P-12 teachers and administrators, teacher candidates and university faculty from across the state were all in attendance!

PDS Conference 2021 Flyer

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Dr. Tyrone Howard, Keynote Speaker


Batter Up Grant Enables Local High School Students to Study the Social, Political, and Economic Impacts of the Negro Baseball Leagues

The Batter Up! grant is a collaboration among the School of Government and Public Administration, NJ, Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, and William Paterson University’s Professional Development Schools network.  The purpose of Batter Up! is to study the social, political, and economic impacts of the Negro Leagues, which were professional baseball teams of African American and Latinx players that, because of segregation, flourished in the early part of the 20th century. 

Batter Up! takes advantage of local connections.  The Negro Leagues have deep roots in the City of Paterson.  Many teams played in Paterson including the Black Yankees, the New York Cubans, and the Newark Eagles.  Hinchliffe Stadium is one of the last remaining Negro League ballparks, and Larry Doby, a graduate of Paterson’s Eastside High School, was the first African American to play in the American League (only three months after Jackie Robinson did so in the National League).

Batter Up! began at GOPA in the 2019-2020 school year.  It was implemented in Historiography, an elective course taught by Ms. Michelle Hamlett that teaches students to do independent research.  To provide context and background for their research, students attended a field trip to the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair, NJ, which sponsored a special program on the Negro Leagues.  Guest speakers to Historiography included Ilyse Goldman, Paterson Great Falls Park Ranger, Brian LoPinto, President of the Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium, and Dr. Lawrence Hogan, national expert on the Negro Leagues and author of the book “Shades of Glory”.  WPU Research Librarians Neil Grimes and Richard Kearney assisted students with their research.

Great progress was taking place until March, when the “game was called” because of COVID-19.  Further activities were to have included visits to the WPU Motion Research Lab and a baseball game that GOPA and WPU students were to have played wearing original Negro League uniforms.  This year Batter Up! has resumed in virtual mode.  The ultimate goal is to have students develop lessons for the social studies curriculum and create mobile classrooms/permanent exhibits (tangible/virtual) that explain the significance of the Negro Leagues.  These will be on-loan and will serve as resources to be used as teaching tools in other schools in WPU’s PDS network.

A presentation on the grant was given on January 18, 2021 at the virtual conference “MLK Day of Service: Progress in a Pandemic”, which was sponsored by the New Jersey Collaboration and Partnership Schools.  Another presentation was accepted to the National Association of Professional Development Schools Annual conference and was held virtually on March 28-31, 2021.  

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Paterson Great Falls Park Ranger, Ilyse Goldman, Speaks to the Paterson High School students.


Paterson School 9 Field Trip to WPU - 2019

WPU's Professional Development & School Community Partnerships Dept. welcomed sixth-grade students and their teachers from Paterson School 9 to the campus today to experience a hands-on day of activities! WPU Professor in Residence at School 9, Bob Tirri, was instrumental in making this trip happen for the kids to enjoy!

Paterson School 9 Field Trip to WPU Facebook Photos


11th Annual NJ Professional Development Schools Conference - 2019

The 11th Annual NJ Professional Development Schools Conference was held on the campus of William Paterson University on May 23, 2019, with our PDS partner schools in attendance. Joining us were faculty and administrators, teacher candidates and university faculty from across NJ who gathered for an outstanding day of innovative professional development workshops, a motivational keynote address and networking. The special keynote speaker, Clint Pulver, inspired the conference attendees with his life story and led the group in a special drumming session. The conference attendees had the opportunity to attend three-hour-long, break-out sessions showcasing the activities of successful local partnerships. A networking lunch provided the opportunity to meet a diverse group of P-12 teachers and administrators, teacher candidates and university faculty from across the state.

11th Annual NJ Professional Development Schools Conference Facebook Photos

WP PDS State Conference 2019 Picture Slideshow


Ninth Annual Professional Development Schools' Artwork Exhibit - 2019

The WPU College of Education, Professional Development & School Community Partnerships Department held its ninth annual Art Exhibit on May 8, 2019. Students from the PDS network of schools attended the celebration with their families, and art teachers and administrators from the featured schools also attended. Dr. Amy Ginsberg, Dean of the College of Education and Nancy Norris Bauer, Director, Professional Development & School Community Partnerships, recognized the students with certificates of achievement for their artistic talents! #WPUNJCOE #WPPDS

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On March 29, 2019, Professor in Residence Dr. Alex Chambers taught a workshop which is attended by teachers in the PDS Network of Schools.  

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REFORMS PDS Puts Summer Work Into Action

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WPUNJ Annual PDS Network Celebration

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Denise Fitzpatrick (far right) of Passaic's School #11 with Professor-In-Residence Jean Modig and Keynote speaker Rafe Esquith at the National Professional Development Schools Conference in Las Vegas