PRISM (Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics) is a partnership between the University System of Georgia, four core public universities (two research institutions, one regional, and one state university) and additional supporting higher education partners, thirteen school districts involving cities (Atlanta and Savannah), small urban regions and rural areas, the Georgia Department of Education, and the Education Coordinating Council of Georgia (the state's P-16 council). PRISM activities are built on a foundation of past work in the state that emphasizes a preK-16 approach to education. PRISM seeks to increase science and mathematics achievement by providing challenging science and mathematics curricula for all students; raising public awareness of the need for all students to complete the challenging curricula; increasing and sustaining the number, quality and diversity of preK-12 teachers of science and mathematics; and increasing the responsiveness of higher education to the needs of schools. The PRISM partner school districts enroll over 170,000 students and employ over 10,000 elementary through high school teachers of science and mathematics. Within the school districts, 39% of the students are African American, 54% are White, 1% are Asian American, 5% are Hispanic, and 1% are Multiracial.
To increase student achievement, PRISM emphasizes changes in educational practice at all levels of four regional preK-16 partnerships and works to transform state policies to help the regional and local reform efforts gain traction and expand. In particular, PRISM institutionalizes professional networks and learning communities within which educators examine student work and best practices in science and mathematics education. Knowledge from this work, then, is shared, refined and used to develop the capacity of current and future preK-12 teachers. Through an Institute on the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics, higher education faculty who prepare teachers work to change their pedagogical practices, which will help teachers deepen their understanding of science and/or mathematics. By including key state entities, PRISM also influences the statewide policy environment in order to reinforce local changes aimed at ensuring implementation of higher standards. While focused on the regional partnerships, it is hoped that innovations deriving from PRISM will impact the entire Georgia P-16 Network (15 regional school/university partnerships) and, through the MSP Learning Network, the Nation.
