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Office of School and Community Engagement

We aim to improve the educational, professional, and social-emotional outcomes for all members of Philadelphia school communities.

The Office of School and Community Engagement (OSCE) at Penn GSE connects Philadelphia students and families, educators, school leaders, and community organizations with the expertise and resources of the Penn Graduate School of Education. 

Through a responsive partnership model, the OSCE works to promote equal access to high quality teaching, learning, and leadership.

Our Model

The OSCE approach across programs is rooted in the following characteristics:

  • Responsive to community needs and priorities
  • Equal access and opportunity-focused
  • Research and evidence-based
  • Relationship-centered

Scope of Work

The OSCE supports Penn GSE in engaging more effectively across institutional boundaries:

  • With Philadelphia schools and the School District of Philadelphia, to facilitate access and improvement at the individual, school, network, and District levels.
  • Within Penn GSE, leveraging faculty and staff research, policy, and practice expertise to respond to pressing issues in urban education.
  • Between Penn GSE and other schools in the University, to facilitate collaboration across disciplines to address complex questions about child, family, and community wellbeing.
  • With other institutions of higher education and community entities that support public education, for a higher level of civic engagement in addressing the challenges facing the city and its youth.

The OSCE oversees an evolving portfolio of projects that directly link the expertise of GSE faculty and staff to members of Philadelphia schools communities, with promise for a high degree of effectiveness and quality impact. These projects fall into three general categories: Program & Practitioner Support, Direct Service Programs for Students, and Network & Systems-level Support.

Our Portfolio of Projects

The OSCE oversees an evolving portfolio of projects that directly link the expertise of Penn GSE faculty and staff to members of Philadelphia schools communities, with promise for a high degree of effectiveness and quality impact. These projects fall into three general categories: 

 

Program & Practitioner Support

Teachers doing a mindfulness exercise together

These programs build capacity within individuals, schools, and systems. We believe that investing in educators is essential to sustainably uplifting the youth they serve. To that end, we provide professional learning and solidify quality practices for longevity in the profession. These services are differentiated for pre-service practitioners as they prepare to enter education careers as well as in-service educators and school leaders.

Programs include: Tier 2 for Teachers, Balanced Educator Collaborative, instructional coaching, workshops for Penn students and pre-service teachers

 

Direct Service Programs for Students

Teacher talking with students at a table

These initiatives respond to a need or a moment in Philadelphia schools or in the broader education landscape. These programs draw upon research, evidence, and best practices incorporated in our practitioner support initiatives to implement programs addressing students' educational and social-emotional needs.

Programs include: Penn GSE Tutoring Initiative, Netter Center/Penn GSE enriched summer learning program 

 

Network & Systems-level Support

Teachers gathered around a table doing geometry puzzles with elastics

This work facilitates access and connections that build organizational capacity in educational systems for promoting lasting improvement and achievement.

Programs include: Responsive Math Teaching Project, SDP District and Network-level collaborations on professional learning

 

 

Penn Partnership Schools

Teacher reading to a student

The OSCE serves as a hub for the University's two whole-school partnerships, which bring multi-faceted university resources to neighborhood schools.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School (“Penn Alexander”), the most successful K-8 public school in the city, is a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia School District, and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

Penn GSE also leads the university’s partnership with Henry C. Lea School, focusing on integrating university resources along with community and parent efforts to establish Lea as a community school. It is implementing a longitudinal evaluation of the partnership processes and outcomes.

Meet the Team

Contact us if you have any questions about The Office of School and Community Engagement.