PROVO — Lindsey Redfern still had a year left at Brigham Young University when she began teaching third grade at Midway Elementary School.

Unlike aspiring teachers at other universities, however, Redfern didn't shadow a full-time teacher or teach just an occasional lesson.

She had her own classroom and her own students — under the watchful eye of a veteran teacher.

"This is technically my first year of teaching, but I don't feel like a first-year teacher," said Redfern, who now teaches third grade in the Jordan School District.

"I'm not as experienced as someone who has taught for 25 years, but I've already done this. I already have lesson plans. I've already done parent-teacher conferences. I know what I'm doing."

That's exactly why BYU decided in 1984 to form a partnership with five Utah school districts to provide real classroom experiences for students studying to be teachers.

More than 167,000 students, or one-third of Utah's student population, are represented by the districts — Alpine, Jordan, Nebo, Provo and Wasatch.

"To have a private, (LDS) Church-sponsored university working with public schools is unique," Steven Baugh, executive director of the BYU Public School Partnership, said Wednesday at a celebration commemorating the partnership's 20th anniversary.

Baugh said BYU can give students theoretical training, but "students need to be out in the classrooms to see what it's like from the beginning of the year to the end of the year" to be adequately prepared to teach full-time.

Each year, BYU students from 31 academic departments across campus apply to be yearlong interns at participating schools in the partner districts. Those who aren't selected to be interns must spend 16 weeks in a classroom assisting a full-time teacher.

Interns receive half-pay and pay a discounted tuition. That frees up veteran teachers to mentor interns and work with other teachers to improve school programs.

"(The partnership) may not result in money savings, but it certainly enhances the education experience," said Utah State Superintendent Patti Harrington, a former superintendent of the Provo School District.

"Now that I'm (state superintendent), I still see contributions. I realize the power the university has in strengthening local districts."

Teachers in participating districts may attend professional development conferences at BYU that focus on literacy, gifted students, bilingual education and special education.

There's even a program to help prepare teachers to become principals.