Education department hopes to build K-5 observation school on campus

The dean of the School of Education’s big dream comes in a small package — elementary school students.
David Rock hopes to open up a pre-K through fifth grade school, which he said would benefit both the local school districts and the School of Education.
Though it is still unclear where the initial funding to build the school would come from, funding to operate the school on a daily basis would be paid in part by local school districts and in part by the School of Education.  
Half of the employees would be local school district employees and half would be School of Education employees, Rock said.
“It’s a win-win situation because that class of children would be in the school district,” he said. “By doing this, we would help defray some of the cost for a school district that would have to pay for a teacher anyway.”
The initial funding presents the most harrowing problem at the moment.  
Rock formerly served as dean at the University of Columbus in Georgia. They were working on the same thing when he left, but $11 million was needed in private funding.
Rock plans to begin actively seeking private funds to build the school.
“I believe that Ole Miss has a great School of Education, and I would like that School of Education to go to the next level,” he said. “To do that, we need to not just help prepare teachers but actually show how we can make a huge difference with respect to students and student learning.”
Elementary education junior Molly Lambert said she loved the idea.
“I think Dean Rock’s plan is an excellent idea,” she said. “Observing is great and I have learned a lot, but actually having lab experience would be even more helpful for when we face the real world.”
Leigh Kaiser, another elementary education junior, said she is also excited about the possibility of a model school.
“I think that would be really convenient for us because I know you have to drive at least 30 minutes sometimes to go observe,” she said.
The school would be a good opportunity for students to see what they have learned put into action, elementary education sophomore Johnica Anderson said.
Perhaps the first issue that comes to mind when considering such a project is the increased stress on morning traffic that a model school on campus would generate.
Rock said he recognizes this problem and has a plan: the school should be built on the outside edge of campus.
The school would be a district school and students would not be selected based on academic ability, nor will children of university employees be preferred.  
“The goal of the school is to create the best possible teaching and learning environment and show that it works for all children,” Rock said.
The idea of a satellite school was born in Rock’s mind when he visited Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, where such a school exists.
“It made me just get so excited about education again,” he said.
The school had glass walls where people could observe the students, Rock said.
He also believes a laboratory school could offer opportunities to other organizations, specifically the National Food Service Management Center to form a model cafeteria.
One of the most important goals of the school would be to show others good teaching practices, Rock said.
Teachers chosen as teacher of the year at other schools could come to the model school on two-year sabbaticals and teach, he said.
Rock said he hopes to have full video capabilities so others can see how these teachers do what they do best.
“We can actually show best practices in action and then disseminate that across the state and across the South, so we can show how effective instruction, effective leadership (and) counseling can actually impact student learning,” Rock said.
He estimates this process could take three to five years, depending on when funding becomes available.