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Table 1
Overview of Research Participants and Relationships in the Partnership

District A District B District C District D District E
University 2 1 3 4
Partner
P-12 Dr. Mack Ms. Franklin, Mr. Davis,
Personnel Bullard, Human Resources Assistant
Director of Superintendent
Strategic
Talent
Management
Mentor Mrs. Taylor Mrs. Cross Mrs. Green
Intern Allison Sarah Tonya
University Ms. Roberts, Mrs. Westbrook, Dr. Adams, Dr. Pace, University
Faculty and Clinical Director; University Mentor; Dean of Supervisor;
Staff Education
Dr. Berry, Dean of Mr. Russell, Dr. Matthews,
Education Coordinator Clinical Director

Note. All names are pseudonyms with the exclusion of Dr. Mack Bullard.
The interns attended University System of Georgia public universities in south
Georgia ranging in size from the smallest enrollment of 2,950 to the largest at
8,307 students. Three undergraduate intern teachers were seeking initial teaching
certification: two were in an elementary education program and one in a middle-
grades math and science program. All three mentor teachers had a specialist degree
in education; their years of teaching experience ranged from 16 to 30 years.
Remaining participants were from P–12 districts and universities; the three P–12
district personnel were from three different districts. All individuals worked as either
assistant superintendents or human resource directors. Seven university personnel
were faculty or staff members closely working with the model. The university
personnel included one dean of education, one associate dean of education, one
education department chair, two field and clinical experiences directors, one
university mentor teacher, and one director in the education department.

Focus Groups and Semi-Structured Interviews
Collection of the data occurred through focus groups and semi-structured
interviews. With a large demographic region in which participants worked, it was
best to conduct virtual focus groups utilizing Google Meets technology to ensure
participants did not travel long distances to a specific site. I recorded focus group
sessions and individual interviews with a handheld audio recorder and the built-in
screen recorder on the computer. The focus group sessions lasted approximately 75
minutes each, contributing to approximately 225 minutes of interview data. Seven
individual interviews and one paired interview took place. Each interview lasted
approximately 45 minutes and provided approximately 360 minutes of data.

Document Collection
To ensure triangulation of data to learn about the model, I requested documents

Promoting Professional and Personal Growth of Educators and Excellence in Education 11