Jolley, which serves students in second through fifth grade, received a $100,00 Teacher Effectiveness Initiative grant through the Bush Foundation, which focuses on investing in quality K-12 field experiences in partnership with a university. USD’s School of Education agreed to be that partner and contributed $50,000, in order to create a strength-based professional development school (PDS).

The school will follow the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education standards and focus on professional preparation of student teachers, faculty and teacher development, improving teaching practices and increasing K-12 student achievement.

The PDS will also help teachers and students to identify and use their strengths and talents in teaching and learning, which will guide teachers in customizing instruction for individual students.

“The strength-based classroom will provide a more personal, more relevant approach to education that empowers all students to discover their talents and believe the impossible,” Sue Galvin, principal of Jolley and a USD graduate, wrote in the Bush Foundation grant proposal.

The school is six blocks from campus, and USD has broad program options not available elsewhere in South Dakota, she said, adding that USD also draws numerous students from Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.

The Minnesota-based Bush Foundation, established in 1953 by 3M executive Archibald Bush and his wife, Edyth, contributes to programs in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and 23 native nations.

Download an image: Danielle Anderson, a USD student teacher at Jolley Elementary School in Vermillion, student Tayden Wells and Misty Wells, a teacher. 

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