Penn GSE launches new framework to increase collaboration with Philadelphia community

The Penn Graduate School of Education unveiled its first strategic initiative in two decades last week.

GSE Dean Katharine Strunk developed the initiative, which is called "Together for Good: A Vision for Transformational Impact." The initiative is intended to increase collaboration between GSE and members of the community with the hopes of being a world leader in "producing consequential research and preparing learners to be impactful educational practitioners, scholars, and changemakers." 

 "There has never been a more critical time to recognize the importance of education for the public good," Strunk wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

The framework is composed of four main priority areas — effectively preparing an education workforce, collaborating with communities for public good, conducting consequently research, and uplifting the role of education in a democratic society.

This vision is aligned with the goals of the University's strategic framework, "In Principle and Practice," according to Strunk.

 "Because no single institution or sector can meet and make this moment alone, our vision is built on deep collaboration—not only with educators but also with policymakers, industry leaders, philanthropists, and communities around the world," the vision's webpage reads.

Strunk told Penn Today that the initiative's goal “is not just to meet the moment, but to make the moment in a spirit of togetherness.”

Penn GSE has already taken steps in these priority areas, according to Strunk. She said that GSE has collaborated with the School District of Philadelphia to deliver a program about the implementation of artificial intelligence in the classroom. Through this collaboration, the Graduate School of Education aims to strengthen ties with the local public schools as a way of “building a national model for what collaboration between a school district and a university should be," according to Penn Today.

Penn GSE has also created an online degree program focusing on AI and education. This initiative is part of Penn GSE’s goal of creating an education workforce that is able to address the challenges of education today. 

To build on this framework, Penn GSE plans to launch a Dean’s Office Strategic Priority Seed Grants initiative. This initiative will compose of four grants awarded yearly that correspond to each of the priorities outlined by the Together for Good framework. The grants are intended to encourage the interdisciplinary and impactful research that can then grow into larger studies.

When developing this framework, Strunk said was influenced by various roles that she has served at Penn since assuming the deanship. Last spring, Strunk co-chaired the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community alongside the Dean of School of Engineering and Applied Science Vijay Kumar.