College of Education on the frontlines to strengthen teaching in Manatee County

USF Sarasota-Manatee works to change the teaching culture at two Bradenton schools 

Sydney Melvin, a USF Sarasota-Manatee alum who spent her senior year working full-time as a teaching intern at Daughtrey Elementary School in Bradenton, said her experience at the economically disadvantaged school reinforced the importance of acknowledging and responding to not only the educational, but also the emotional and social needs of students.

The stakes are too high, Melvin said, to not spend time building relationships with students to understand where their needs are to ensure students succeed in the face of outside challenges, like poor health, unsafe neighborhoods and an unstable home life. 
“I have to understand how they feel about certain things,” Melvin said. “I have to speak so they understand.”  Internships like Melvin’s, which paid  her $15 an hour, are one way the College of Education at USF Sarasota-Manatee is contributing to a community-wide effort to give students at Daughtrey Elementary and Manatee Elementary, also in Bradenton, the much-needed support and guidance they deserve, according to Cheryl Ellerbrock, campus dean for the College of Education at USF Sarasota-Manatee. 

The Community Partnership Schools program recognizes that the two schools, where many students receive free or reduced-priced breakfasts and lunches and score below average on standardized tests, face particular challenges that can affect academic performance. Many students and their families have inadequate access to health and social services — or don’t know what’s available to them; and the schools may have difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers equipped to properly serve students facing so many challenges.

The program, which has been at Manatee Elementary since 2020 and at Daughtrey Elementary since fall 2023, has brought, among other services, community health clinics to the two campuses, a food pantry to Manatee Elementary and, from USF, student interns, faculty support and graduate-level teacher leadership academies that support teachers at the two schools to develop the knowledge and skills to serve as campus-level teacher leaders.

“Dr. Ellerbrock and her team have done an outstanding job in working with the Manatee School District and other partners to address the needs of children and their families at Manatee and Daughtrey elementary schools,” said Sarasota-Manatee Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook. “I am also delighted about the inroads the program and the work of our faculty and students have given us into communities that we have not always been able to reach.”

USF’s role in the partnership is to work hand-in-hand to transform how teachers teach at Manatee Elementary and Daughtrey Elementary and instill expertise and stability in the teaching ranks at the schools, Ellerbrock said. Both schools were successful in retaining teachers for the 2024-25 school year.

The training through the Teacher Leadership Academy, which teachers can apply toward earning a graduate degree from USF, is designed to equip them with skills that will help them become collaborative leaders and proactive mentors to support fellow teachers and the larger community. The courses prepare teachers to meet challenges they might face, engage in opportunities to support student success and help with teacher retention because they nurture a sense of professional fulfillment. 

“We’re taking a multi-tiered approach to supporting teaching,” Ellerbrock said. Melissa McCullough, the principal at Daughtrey Elementary, said USF’s help has been well received. 

“The partnership has led to staff pursuing advanced studies in leadership, as well as participating in professional learning opportunities with core partners,” McCullough said. 

Other partners in the Community Partnership Schools program include MCR Health, which is operating health clinics serving the students, as well as residents of the surrounding neighborhoods; the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County; the Children’s Home Society of Florida; and the School District of Manatee County. 

The program is an example of the many ways faculty and students in the College of Education on the Sarasota-Manatee campus are engaging with, and for the betterment of, the community, said program co-founder Brett Kemker, Sarasota-Manatee regional vice chancellor and vice provost of academic affairs and student success. 

“A bonus is the many opportunities, like internships and other hands-on training that our participation has created for USF students preparing to the enter the teaching profession in Manatee or elsewhere, especially at schools with the greatest needs,” Kemker said. 

Landing an internship at one of the partnership schools is an opportunity for USF’s student interns to break any pre-conceived notions they might have about working at a school like Manatee Elementary or Daughtrey Elementary after they graduate, said Associate Professor Jenn Jacobs, the College of Education’s director of clinical education. 

“People make assumptions about what these schools are. And when they actually work with the students and the teachers there, they realize, ‘No, this is an environment where I want to teach,’” Jacobs said. 

Fourth-grade teacher Nicole Swanson, Melvin’s mentor, and other teachers provided expert guidance in areas including academics, behavior management and resiliency so that the USF students could complete their internships with knowledge and confidence to create their own classrooms that will meet the needs of students, said USF Assistant Professor Tammy Sommers. 
Melvin, who was the teaching intern in a fourth-grade classroom at Daughtrey, is now a fifth-grade teacher at Palmetto Elementary School, also in the Manatee School District. She said the elementary education program at USF Sarasota-Manatee prepared her to lead her own classroom. 

The Community Partnership Schools program has given USF Sarasota-Manatee and the College of Education a gateway into communities that may not be familiar with the university. Sommers frequently represents USF at school and community events like fall festivals, kindergarten roundups and family literacy nights, all opportunities to work together creatively to meet the needs of students. 

“The collaborative partnerships between USF Sarasota-Manatee and Daughtrey and Manatee elementary schools promotes thriving environments for all to be successful,” Sommers said. “The future is truly bright.”