TN Tech University & Putnam County School System
The Tennessee Tech University–Putnam County Schools Lead in Literacy Partnership represents a sustained school–university collaboration designed to prepare highly competent literacy teachers while strengthening K–2 instruction across a rural Tennessee district. Now in its third year, the partnership is grounded in shared governance and active participation in Tennessee’s statewide Lead in Literacy Network. Rather than operating as a traditional practicum placement model, the partnership functions as a co-constructed system of shared responsibility, shared leadership, and shared instructional vision.
At the center of the work is the BRIDGE Framework (Building Reflective, Intentional, Dynamic, Guided Experiences), co-developed by TN Tech University faculty Mrs. Lindsey Braisted and Dr. Amber Spears. BRIDGE establishes a shared structure for clinical practice, guiding preservice teachers’ development through four interconnected professional learning cycles: Relationship Building, Co-Planning, Co-Teaching, and Feedback. These cycles are embedded within university coursework, district mentor modules, and classroom implementation, creating coherence between preparation and practice that extends beyond individual placements.
The impact is multi-layered. Preservice teachers demonstrate increased instructional accuracy in early literacy routines, stronger alignment to high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), and greater confidence in leading whole-group and small-group instruction grounded in the science of reading. Mentor teachers report growth in leadership identity, instructional clarity, and feedback practices, while principals report stronger instructional coherence and increased readiness among graduates entering K–2 classrooms. The partnership expands instructional capacity in K–2 classrooms by positioning preservice teachers as genuine contributors to literacy instruction through co-planning, co-teaching, and participation in reflective coaching cycles alongside experienced educators.
The work has received external validation through statewide recognition in the Lead in Literacy Network, a Tennessee Tech Faculty Research Grant supporting ongoing study of the model, acceptance to present at the 2026 NASUP Conference, and publication of the BRIDGE Framework in an international peer-reviewed journal.
Most importantly, the partnership strengthens early literacy experiences for children while building a replicable, research-informed model of university–district collaboration aligned with NASUP’s Nine Essentials.
This is not a placement partnership. It is a shared preparation system designed to ensure that future teachers enter classrooms prepared to deliver high-quality literacy instruction from their first day as professionals.
