Annual partnership breakfast connects local school leaders with School of Education faculty

The Liberty University School of Education hosted its annual partnership breakfast on Wednesday, furthering its commitment to establishing lasting relationships with area K-12 institutions and meeting the mutual needs of the schools and Liberty’s future educators.

The event was held in the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre and served 26 school leaders from 17 different divisions and Liberty teacher-candidates. Presentations were given by various School of Education and Liberty personnel, with a keynote address from newly hired Tomahawk Elementary School Principal Keith Bennett. During the breakfast, Bennett was honored with a Dean’s Award for Excellence in School Partnership by School of Education Dean Dr. Shawn Bielicki.

Bennett shared about his experience as a principal at various public schools in the area and showed appreciation for the many Liberty students who have served in his schools as practicum students and student-teachers. He noted that students are often offered full-time positions in the schools they serve.

Bennett emphasized the importance of establishing a strong workplace culture where faculty feel appreciated and supported, noting the high turnover rates common in the education profession.

“You can’t always expect to replace an experienced teacher with (another) one. Try to build them up,” he said. “I’m a huge culture person and I hire (based on) personalities because (teaching is) a people job. It’s not a knowledge job, it’s a people job. Liberty has been really good to me. Thank you for the award and thank you for continuing to give me teachers to help staff my building.”

Other topics covered during the breakfast included an overview of new programs and initiatives within the School of Education, employer relations support for students presented by Liberty’s Career Services, support services available for teacher-candidates and partner schools, and more. The event closed with a roundtable discussion where school partners could connect with university representatives to discuss additional ways Liberty can serve the surrounding education community.

Director of Student Teachers Darnella Sims, who spent 34 years in public education before joining Liberty, highlighted the benefit of partnering with local school officials.

“Mutually beneficial partnerships help all of us,” she said. “The number one benefit is always for our college students and for our students in the classrooms. We get to partner in basically sharing the wealth. We have veteran teachers and experienced teachers partner with us to work with our student-teachers and to help them grow and really develop the skills they’ll need when they become teachers themselves.”

For elementary education senior Joshua Closius, the breakfast provided yet another opportunity to build relationships with local schools.

“This is great for a student like me to hear what our partners are looking for in their students and what are they not looking for,” he said. “It’s just another great way of networking. Whereas a career fair is very rushed, this is very timely, and you get to know them personally as well.”

Bielicki said events like the partnership breakfast allow the School of Education to pour back into local schools and brainstorm solutions to current issues.

“Partnerships are based on relationships, trust, communication, collaboration,” he said. “When we look to engage our partners over time, we look to continue in growing each of those areas. Maybe today we are putting a practicum student or a student-teacher (in local schools), but tomorrow they are coming back for professional development. The next day, perhaps their teachers are getting graduate degrees from us. It’s a more symbiotic relationship that is helpful for both parties.”

Liberty offers a video series as well as live professional development/ continuing education classes to further train school faculty and staff at area schools.

“God made us communicative, collaborative, social creatures,” Bielicki added. “That doesn’t stop in education and K-12 buildings. It doesn’t stop in college classrooms. Taking advantage of the God-given gifts and the God-given design of people is what partnerships are all about.”