3 scholarlypartnershipsedu Vol. 5, No. 2 Breaking Down the Ivory Tower Abstract An efective and sustainable university-school partnership requires active participation on the part of both institutions involved. here also need to be clearly articulated goals that outline how the partnership will be beneicial for the school and university. his article provides a description of a partnership formulated on this premise of being mutually beneicial and elaborates on the necessary steps required to foster such a collaborative efort. he theoretical framework underpinning the partnership between a Midwestern university and urban school district is described providing guidance on how other similar institutions might facilitate the creation of their partnerships. Introduction he University of Michigan-Dearborn (UM-D) is located at the intersection of several speciic demographic groups. In addition, UM-D is situated within a metropolitan area with a dichotomy of economically deprived urban neighborhoods bordered by middle- and upper-class suburbs. hese groups have unique needs, and the university operates under a “metropolitan vision” in order to work with the diferent groups and help them address their various needs. One component of that metropolitan vision, as described by the university chancellor, is to improve preschool and K–12 education. “UM-D has made a priority of strengthening the efectiveness of teachers and schools, through our programs in the School of Education and our partnerships with urban and metropolitan school systems” (Little, 2009). his article describes one such program developed through a partnership between the UM-D School of Education (SOE) and the MacArthur K–8 University Academy (MUA), a school in the Southield Public Schools (SPS). Background MacArthur is a school that had been previously closed by the district due to low performance. After extensive Breaking Down the Ivory Tower: Creating a School/University Partnership Where Everyone Beneits Karen homas-Brown, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Stein Brunvand, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Gail Luera, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Bobbie Hentrel, MacArthur K–8 University Academy, Southfield Public Schools, Linda Barlow, MacArthur K–8 University Academy, Southfield Public Schools, & Lynda Wood, Southfield Public Schools