Sometimes public schools and teacher prep programs can feel like separate silos, each operating entirely independently of the other—but other models are possible. Bridgeport District TEAM Facilitator, Student Teacher Coordinator, and Mediator Michael Brosnan was recently recognized for his work collaborating across preK-12 and higher education with the National Association for School–University Partnerships’ Exemplary PK20 Boundary Spanner Award.
“In his role as a school–university liaison for the Bridgeport Public Schools, one of Connecticut’s largest and most complex districts, Michael has been an invaluable partner to Sacred Heart University’s Farrington College of Education and Human Development. His leadership, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to high-quality educator preparation consistently strengthen our PK–20 collaboration and make him exceptionally deserving of this recognition,” Robin E. Hands, Ed.D. Clinical Professor of Teacher Education and Director of Clinical Practice at Sacred Heart, wrote in her letter nominating Brosnan for the award.
“Boundary spanners are individuals who deeply understand the cultures, dynamics, and pressures of both K12 and higher education, allowing them to build meaningful relationships in both settings,” explains Sacred Heart Professor and Teachers@Heart Residency Program Director René Roselle. “Often referred to as hybrid educators, these individuals span inter-institutional or intra-institutional boundaries to strengthen collaboration and facilitate mutual benefit. Michael Brosnan exemplifies what it means to be a boundary spanner. In my 24 years working in school–university partnerships, I have never met someone more deserving of this honor. His work has profoundly shaped my life, our teacher education faculty and students, our residency program, and the teachers and students of Bridgeport Public Schools.”
Brosnan says he’s beyond humbled by the award, and that it very much marks a shared partnership.
“I have great colleagues in universities who are willing to work with Bridgeport Public Schools, and I have 200 mentors in our schools who are willing to open their doors to future educators,” he says. “This award doesn’t happen without mentors and school leaders who are willing to welcome college kids into their schools every semester. We have ‘teaching schools’ now and a real culture of teacher growth. This award isn’t really for me; it’s for all the mentors and colleagues who make schools welcoming places and for the teacher prep programs who come back to find additional placements in Bridgeport year after year.”
Brosnan collaborates with Sacred Heart on two different student teacher programs—a traditional student teacher experience for college seniors and the Teachers@Heart program for master’s degree students.
Hands works with Brosnan on the traditional student teacher program
“We work together very closely to carefully place seniors,” she says. “I usually know them pretty well, so we can make heathy matches between seniors and cooperating teachers. Cooperating teachers have to be TEAM trained, and Michael has to find out who is TEAM trained, which teachers are willing to take students, and whether principals will allow them to do so.”
She adds, “Michael really puts in a lot of time figuring out what is best for candidates. He’s gifted at making these matches, and when things don’t work out, we’re great at collaborating on how to diplomatically handle the situation.”
Teachers@Heart is modeled after medical residency programs. While residents complete coursework for their Master of Arts in Teaching degrees in the late afternoon and evening, they also get hands-on practice with the support of mentor teachers through an intensive and immersive residency experience over the course of an entire academic year. Working in the same classroom all year, residents gain approximately 1,400 hours of teaching experience, almost 1,000 hours more than student teachers in most teacher prep programs.
The Teachers@Heart residency program is graduating its sixth cohort and welcoming its seventh right now. Residents who complete the program commit to staying and working in Bridgeport for three years.
“They really become our colleagues, and we stay very close with graduates of this program. It’s designed in a cohort model, so they stay close with one other as well,” Brosnan says.
The program was codesigned 50/50 between Bridgeport Public Schools and Sacred Heart from the beginning and includes a weekly teaching seminar and a monthly mentor academy for the teachers hosting the graduate students. Both are co-taught by Brosnan and a professor from Sacred Heart.
“The college students know we’re working with their mentors and they feel the wrap-around support. Just experiencing the entire arc of a school year with their mentor—it means that when they start in their first year of teaching, you’d think they’d been teaching three to five years already as they’re so well prepared to enter the profession,” Brosnan says.
He adds, “When I was studying to become a teacher, I had my standard 15 weeks of student teaching, but I was a mess the first year. I always wished I could have had more time. Having this program span the entire school year really affords tremendous preparation.”
In addition to his collaboration with Sacred Heart to place student teachers, Brosnan also serves as an adjunct professor and has co-authored papers on mentoring new teachers and school–university partnerships with Sacred Heart faculty.
