The foundation of a lasting partnership between a K12 school district and a four-year research university goes beyond aligned strategic priorities. It takes a clear-eyed commitment among leaders to lay resources on the table and “put some skin in the game,” said Dr. Tony Watlington, superintendent of The School District of Philadelphia.
At the latest District Administration Leadership Institute summit in Palm Springs, California, Watlington sat down with the deans of the education colleges at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University to discuss their unique cross-sector partnership.
“The universities have something that we don’t,” said Watlington, DA’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year. “They have a research engine that can help us validate what works, and they can help us get better, faster. But it takes working together collaboratively and building authenticity between one another.”
In the past five years, Philadelphia has improved several student outcomes and underdeveloped employee pipelines, thanks in part to a revitalized relationship with the colleges. The district’s fourth grade math scores on NAEP rose by seven points, and Philadelphia was one of the few large urban districts nationwide that did not see a decline in 8th-grade test scores since 2019. At the same time, graduation and dropout rates dramatically improved.
“Developing strong partnerships is person-dependent,” said Dr. Katharine Strunk, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s graduate school of education. “It’s hard work, and it takes time to build trust and repair past areas that may be lacking in trust.”
Without formal dialogue, strategic priorities can often misalign and K12-higher ed partnerships can fail to materialize. However, Philadelphia has proven that through intentional design (and will), university research can transform to move “at the pace of K12 policy,” rather than “the pace of the Ivy League,” Strunk said.
Here are three different ways district leaders can foster a more cohesive higher education partnership and align priorities at the university level.
‘Laser focus’ on shared initiatives
UPenn’s Strunk and Dr. Monika Williams Shealey, dean of Temple’s College of Education and Human Development, entered their respective positions about two and a half years ago.
“One of the things I loved the most is that the two of us came in and said, ‘There’s no reason we shouldn’t be partnering,'” Strunk said. “There’s plenty of work to do; we don’t have to fight over who gets to do it.”
The deans, along with Watlington, zeroed in on five priorities. Among them were creating highly qualified, well-supported teachers and principals and developing standards-aligned curriculum.
“We don’t try to boil the ocean, and we don’t try to chase every fad,” said Watlington. “We stay laser-focused on a few things that we do really well and assess real-time actionable feedback.”
More on K12: 3 ways schools are reversing math declines
After securing philanthropic funding, UPenn and the district created an Algebra I teacher fellowship program that incorporates a week-long summer workshop and PD during the school year. UPenn faculty study the workshop to develop a model that other districts can replicate.
The district and university also pooled financial resources to provide participating teachers with a $5,000 stipend.
And this summer, Temple University will begin offering free certifications to teachers in residency programs at The School District of Philadelphia to improve workforce pipelines in special education and middle school.
“Our work is really impactful because it’s grounded in what we believe,” Shealey said. “Our attitudes and dispositions toward the work are compatible with those of the superintendent.”
Streamline communication channels
Previously, faculty from different colleges at Temple University would independently contact The School District of Philadelphia. While well-intentioned, the university outreach wasn’t aligned with either Watlington’s or Shealey’s strategic priorities.
As a result, the two leaders now ensure all communication coming from Temple University is sent from the College of Education. Temple University’s president, Watlington and Shealey are copied on every email, providing the leaders with ultimate oversight on communication between the two sectors.
Philadelphia’s university partnerships have also helped spur the creation of a new leadership role focused on strengthening principal development across the district.
As part of a coordinated initiative with Temple and UPenn to build more effective principal pipelines, the district appointed a chief learning officer who now tracks each school’s progress in preparing the next generation of principals.
This new role provides Watlington with a contact to discuss the district’s comprehensive efforts in tackling principal turnover.
Reflection and ‘reciprocity’
Watlington’s senior leadership team is deeply familiar with the strategic priorities developed by Strunk and Shealey at their respective colleges, which were discussed by the three leaders at the summit.
It’s a testament to Watlington’s focus on “reciprocity,” he says. “We always ensure we’re doing the homework on our end and not just saying, ‘What can you do for us?’ How do we best position ourselves to ask universities how they can help?”
