Most school=university partnerships involve relationships
primarily between K–12 public schools and universities for the
purpose of fieldwork experiences, student teaching, and teacher
mentors. This study’s contribution to the field was to determine
if the partnership within a private setting would provide similar
types of school improvement reforms, student outcomes, and
reciprocal collaborative benefits for the institutions involved. As
the researchers reflected on this partnership, they found that the
criteria for its success and effectiveness seemed fairly consistent
with the research in the field and the review of the literature. Successful
partnerships between K–12 settings and universities must
ensure common goals, the desire to change, and reciprocity. Open
communication and trust are essential in building a successful
relationship. It is also important to understand that resistance to
change is part of the normal process of school reform. Those resistant
to change will be persuaded when they see positive outcomes
in student achievement, improved teaching performance, and a
school climate which empowers the community of learners. The
146 M. A. Pacino et al.
K–5 school has high hopes for a future of quality education. A
comment from one of the school teachers during the end of the
2004 to 2005 school year was one indicator of the progress of
the partnership: ‘‘The past year was very difficult because there were so
many changes, but we have accomplished a lot. I’m proud of where we
are, for us and the students’’ (personal communication, teacher D,
2005). It was apparent that the partnership was mutually beneficial.
It provided teaching and learning reform for the elementary
school; it provided university students with an opportunity to work
with teachers and students; and it provided an opportunity for
mentors to connect theory to practice, to engage in community service,
and to conduct meaningful research. The university and the
K–5 school forged a trustworthy risk-taking relationship that continues
today.