Welcome to the Center for University, School and Community Partnerships (CUSP) at UMass Dartmouth's satellite location in Fairhaven. CUSP offers professional development and alternative licensing programs for teachers and administrators.

Register for the School Leaders' Network “Teacher Evaluation” Workshop

Don’t miss the School Leaders Network’s new Best Practice workshop, Tuesday, May 9 at 9:00 am, where leadership coach, educator, and author Kim Marshall will offer his insights into the teacher evaluation process. Workshop participants will hear how conventional supervision and evaluation fall short and gain new strategies into teacher observation and assessment. Find out more and register today.

Save the Date! “Navigating the Way II” 2012

Make sure to bookmark your calendar for the School Leaders’ Network’s second annual “Navigating the Way” conference, to be held June 28-29 at White’s of Westport. This innovative and instructive conference  will cover vital topics in educational technology, rigor, and relevance. You won’t want to miss keynote speakers Willard Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, and Alan November, an international leader in education technology.

Teachers, administrators, education faculty and other interested members of the education community are encouraged to attend. Find out more.

Announcing the Compact's 2012 College Planning Guide!

The Southcoast Education Compact is pleased to announce the publication of their 2012 SouthCoast College Planning Guide, a resource for high school students providing information on college preparation, admission and application procedures. Click here tlo learn more about the guide and download your copy.

Attention Teachers: Apply Now for the National Gallery of Art Teacher Institute 2012

Each year the National Gallery of Art offers an educational and inspiring institute just for teachers. This year’s institute will focus on French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism as it integrates art, social history, language arts, and teaching strategies through examining collections of the National Gallery.

Teachers of kindergarten through grade twelve are encouraged to apply for the six day institute, running in two sessions from July 16-21 and July 30 - August 4. Fellowships are available through the National Gallery of Art for qualified educators.  Click here to find out more and apply.

NSF Awards STEM Grant to CUSP

CUSP has been awarded a $2.86 million grant from the National Science Foundation aimed at improving science, technology, engineering and math education.

Visit the NSF TEACH!Southcoast Initiative page for the full press release, and please contact Tyra Lopes Mendes (tlopes@umassd.edu) if interested in more information.

Stay On the CUSP with our Summer 2011 newsletter

The Summer 2011 edition of On the CUSP brings you all the recent news from CUSP, including JET's first student graduation, TEACH UrbanSouth's successful conclusion, Noyce scholar updates, and much more.

Download your copy of On the CUSP Summer 2011 today. 

2009-2010 Annual Report

The CUSP 2009-2010 Annual Report (pdf) is now available for download.

Paraprofessionals: JET into teaching

Are you a paraprofessional, and interested in becoming a teacher? The Journey into Education and Teaching (JET) program at CUSP can help. This accelerated teacher licensure program enables paraprofessionals to earn associate's and bachelor's degrees from Bristol Community College and UMass Dartmouth, leading to state teaching licensure in Elementary Education and Moderate Disabilities. Participants complete courses together as a cohort, and are eligible for tuition scholarships from the state.

For more information:

• Visit the program homepage
• Download the JET Brochure (pdf)
• Download a JET Application  (pdf)