Public School Partnerships
The Office of Public School Partnerships (OPSP) at Saint Louis University is dedicated to making a positive impact on the local education landscape. We collaborate with public schools to support their goals and enhance the educational experience for students. Our current formal partnerships include:
Public Charter School Sponsorship: SLU's School of Education (SOE) sponsors four charter school systems: City Garden Montessori Charter School in the city of St. Louis and Académie Lafayette, Frontier Schools, and Hope Leadership Academy in Kansas City. Sponsorship responsibilities are directed and overseen by the SLU School of Education in conjunction with faculty and staff from throughout the University.
Grow Your Own Teachers Program: SLU’s SOE partners with public school districts to identify high school students who have a desire to become teachers. Those high school students are then recruited into SLU’s SOE with generous scholarship packages and community support. Participants in the Grow Your Own Teachers programs will become preferred applicants for their home school district upon graduating with a teaching certification.
Rising Teachers: This program is set to revolutionize the education landscape by providing partner districts with a pipeline of certified professionals within just two years. Targeting eligible assistant teachers, long-term substitutes, and paraprofessionals, Rising Teachers leverages the unique advantage of students who are already deeply invested in their districts and actively engaged members of their school communities.
Research Practice Partnerships: The OPSP works to build long-term relationships between researchers at the PRiME Center and practitioners in public education systems, specifically focusing on problems of practice in education.
PRiME: The PRiME Center is a non-partisan research center. Opened in the Spring of 2019, we are wholly committed to conducting and sharing research that leads to better policies, educational outcomes, and opportunities for all students.
Scripps National Spelling Bee: SLU’s SOE sponsors the St. Louis Regional Spelling Bee in coordination with all area schools that serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The winner of the St. Louis Regional Spelling Bee will go on to compete at the national level.
iSCORE: The Institute for STEM Collaboration, Outreach, Research, and Education (iSCORE) fosters scholars’ STEM literacy development and STEM identities. iSCORE works to transform the STEM community one mind at a time, we serve a community of professional educators through institutes, workshops, and formal and informal collaborations.
Saint Louis University is proud to be a partner in education with public schools in Missouri. Our commitment to quality education is at the heart of everything we do.
For inquiries or to explore potential partnerships, please contact Alexandra Boyd, executive director of the Office of Public School Partnerships: alexandra.boyd@slu.edu or call 314-977-1975 or 314-977-3292.