College of Education launches partnership with Panasonic Foundation, four rural school districts
East Carolina University’s College of Education is celebrating a new partnership with the Panasonic Foundation and four eastern North Carolina school districts.
The Panasonic Foundation works nationwide with schools to break the link between race, poverty and educational outcomes by improving the academic and social success of students.
Scott Thompson, assistant executive director of the Panasonic Foundation (Photos by Jessica Nottingham for ECU News Services)
In a ceremony March 7, the foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with ECU and Duplin, Jones, Pender and Sampson county school districts. It’s the first time Panasonic will work in a rural setting with a university.
“We are really excited about this opportunity,” said Scott Thompson, assistant executive director of the Panasonic Foundation. “Our work has been almost entirely urban, and we recognize that rural districts serving children in poverty much like our urban districts have incredibly important work to do. They can be a lot more isolated and neglected in a certain sense to the philanthropic resources that are out there. This is an opportunity to bring folks together and learn from each other.”
Superintendents and school board members from each school district and representatives from the College of Education attended the ceremony held at the East Carolina Heart Institute at ECU.
“To the educational leaders in the room, I would like to recognize your work— it is incredibly important work,” Thompson said. “Thousands of eastern North Carolina students are represented here tonight. Their lives are going to be deeply influenced by what happens in their K-12 experience.”
Panasonic will fund one national coach (who also will work in districts across the country) and the ECU College of Education will fund one full-time teaching faculty member to work with the national coach and eastern North Carolina school districts.
Pender County education superintendent Terri Cobb and administrators with ECU’s Matt Militello and Art Rouse, and Panasonic Foundation assistant executive director Scott Thompson
COE faculty also will provide professional development based on the needs of the teachers in the school districts.
Last year, ECU began talks with Panasonic to build and add a rural consortium to their network. College of Education faculty members sought districts that fit the criteria and qualified as possible partners. In April, Panasonic’s executive director visited with ECU and in the school districts that were picked. Representatives from the school districts have met with ECU officials over the past 10 months to develop a plan of action.
Matt Militello, Wells Fargo Distinguished Professor in Educational Leadership (contributed photo)
“These types of partnerships (schools, universities, and business foundations) are unique,” said Matt Militello, program coordinator and Wells Fargo Endowed Chair of Educational Leadership at ECU. “We are happy to be on the cutting edge of changing the paradigms and models that will ultimately support district needs in order to improve student achievement.”