By Amy Cockerham
Public Ed Works

CHARLOTTE (April 2, 2026) – UNC Charlotte’s Cato College of Education boasts a whopping 350 community partnerships that were highlighted last week at the Charlotte Urban Institute Community Engagement Showcase.

Toye Watson is Director of Community and Strategic Partnerships for the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.

“We know that it is our duty to give back to the public that funds us and allows for us to do the great work that we do,” Watson said. “We have to welcome them in, and we go out in order to do things that are transformative.”

Premkumar Pugalenthi is a professor in the education department. He teaches an introductory course that partners with Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte.

“Cato College of Education does a really good job of thinking about, ‘How do we retain people?’” Pugalenthi said. “People stay where they are seen, where they are valued, and we wanted to create that community.”

Teachers left North Carolina classrooms at a rate of 10.11% in 2024-25, higher than the 7.5% reported before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pugalenthi’s partnership brings a group of students into the school to observe teachers.

“Then they come back and collectively reflect so they can see, theoretically, what I talk about in my classes and practically, how does it translate,” Pugalenthi said.

About 120 students have gone through the experience so far.

“From early on, they see that this is a village,” Pugalenthi said.

“They are not alone, and that I think is a powerful impact for them. It’s not quantifiable. It’s not measurable. But for them to know that they are not going to be thrown into the classroom in front of middle schoolers and high schoolers without having any support or that community.”

The College of Education currently serves 480 undergraduate and 1,732 graduate students. 

With programs like his, Pugalanthi hopes the number of undergraduates grows. At the end of his course, he asks students if they will continue to stay in the profession.

“Very few hands go up to say, ‘I don’t think I’m going to minor in education,’” Pugalenthi said. “That is an indicator for me to show this is working, and this is impactful for them.”

Toye Watson is an alum of the College of Education and remembers partnerships at the college even decades ago. 

“It has lifted me from a person who thinks that teaching is just in the four walls to knowing that the classroom is the whole world,” Watson said.

“Everywhere I go, I try to teach. I try to bring people to the university and help them form partnerships that will help them close their goals.”