Abstract
Successful Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships provide teacher candidates with a rich and relevant classroom experience and evidence of learning gains that can be seen in P-12 students. As university and school partnerships continue to evolve, supporting stakeholders must team up to develop a vision for a successful way to implement this experience. One such program was developed as an afterschool book club. This book club was held at Pinewoods Elementary and involved a literacy methods class from Florida Gulf Coast University which utilized a gaming program called Cranium CoRE. Three essential principles associated with PDS were central to the success of this PDS literacy partnership. Like many professional development school partnerships, the university, the local school, and other stakeholders teamed up to develop a vision for the implementation of an afterschool book club that would incorporate research-based literacy instruction and field experience application while embracing the essentials principles associated with PDS.