WORCESTER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS -

April 7, 2023 - The National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) has announced that Ms. Clara Outten, teacher and mentor at Snow Hill Elementary School, which is in partnership with Salisbury University, has been honored for “Exemplary Mentor” award at the organization’s recent 2023 annual conference. Ms. Outten was selected as the inaugural recipient of Exemplary Mentor award due to her demonstrated excellence in supporting, coaching, and guiding preservice and/or inservice teachers in their professional growth. The Exemplary Mentor Award was given to a one school-based clinical educator that has demonstrated ongoing, reflective practices, high quality coaching practices, and modeling of effective instructional practices.

NAPDS is the pre-eminent national organization supporting and advancing school-university collaboration. The vision of the Association is to serve as an advocate for the educational community in promoting the continuous development of PreK-12/higher education/community relationships. NAPDS sponsors two publications, PDS Partners and School-University Partnerships, a refereed journal for scholarly research. The NAPDS annual conference typically draws 800-1000 educators from the U.S. and several foreign countries.