SU Education Student Earns National Emerging PDS Leader Award

SALISBURY, MD---When Salisbury University student Shelby Ennis was called to the podium at the National Association for Professional Development Schools’ (NAPDS) annual conference, she learned that she was receiving the organization’s Emerging PDS Leader Award.

A senior elementary and early childhood education major from Westover, MD, Ennis was chosen among nine finalists who had been nominated by NAPDS members. The award honors student members of NAPDS for their service to the organization and their institution’s PDS program, as well as scholarly contributions at the conference.  

The Washington High School graduate has made five presentations at national conferences, and serves as the chair of SU’s Clinical Practice Advisory Panel and president of the local chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the international education honor society. She also recently won SU’s E. Pauline Riall Award, given to an outstanding senior studying elementary and/or early childhood education.   

Ennis was jointly nominated for the NAPDS award by Sara Elburn, SU's PDS coordinator, and Dr. Mary Anne Cooper, Snow Hill Elementary School principal. In her nominating letter, Cooper praised Ennis’ “ability to deliver instruction with a purposeful plan to positively meet the needs of all students, demonstrating tremendous promise as an early childhood teacher.”

The honor represents the fifth time in a decade that SU has received national recognition for its teacher education program and its partnerships with local schools. 

In 2009, SU’s teacher education program was awarded NAPDS’ Spirit of Partnership Award for PDS contributions at the national level. Then NAPDS bestowed its highest honor, the Exemplary PDS Achievement Award, for SU partnerships with Worcester County Public Schools in 2011, Mardela Middle and High School in 2015, and Snow Hill Elementary School in 2017. 

SU maintains a network of 34 professional development school sites in seven districts. The Maryland State Department of Education requires that all student teaching internships take place in PDS sites, believing that mutually supportive partnerships between higher education and public schools are essential for providing high quality clinical experiences for aspiring teachers. 

NAPDS is the pre-eminent national organization supporting and advancing school-university collaboration. It serves as an advocate for the continuous development of PreK-12/higher education/community relationships. NAPDS sponsors two publications: the PDS Partners news magazine and School-University Partnerships scholarly research journal.  Held in Jacksonville, FL, the annual conference drew more than 800 educators from the U.S. and several other countries.  

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.