New web page highlights COE's community outreach

The distinction between academics and the “real” world was always an artificial one. Scholars are real people living in the everyday world, with all its social obligations. And good scholarship always depends on observation of what’s really happening out there in the world.

Nowhere is research more real than at a college of education. Our “academic” goals include preparing teachers for the demanding world of the K-12 classroom, finding solutions for the learning problems of struggling children, and showing school administrators how to manage crises and budget crunches.

For the College of Education, the schools and communities of North Central Florida– and across the state—serve as our laboratory. Our professors and students partner with community educators and leaders on projects designed to meet pressing educational and social needs in the local schools and neighborhoods, whether that involves preparing teachers for high-poverty schools, counseling struggling families in our free Couple and Family Clinic, or marshalling the resources of a community’s child welfare agencies.

These efforts and many other community outreach activities are highlighted in “Colleges with a Conscience,” a new Web feature designed to highlight UF’s many efforts to sustain a better quality of life in our community. You can see the COE’s “Colleges with a Conscience” site here, or go here to see some of the things other UF colleges are doing.

If you know of other efforts that should be highlighted on this page, please contact the COE News and Publications Office at news@coe.ufl.edu.