This paper discusses problematic issues related to teacher education in the Professional Development School (PDS) environment, noting the assumption that partnership between the academy and the public school via PDSs is the foundation of all teacher development. It cautions that while partnership is now deeply embedded in the United States, there are disparities and divergences between stakeholders in education which partnership has failed to address and which threaten to derail teacher recruitment and teacher education. The paper highlights events in the state of Maryland, using them as an example of one dominant approach to developing partnerships in teacher education. It suggests that the problems and possibilities that exist for partnership in Maryland illustrate a broader reform agenda nationwide. The paper argues that what has not emerged is a cultural discussion on how partnerships might most usefully develop and what different kinds of partnerships could practicably exist. It recommends that there should be a plurality of partnerships in the teacher education realm. After discussing state-ism and the apparatus of educational control in Maryland, the paper examines the social market and communities of change, focusing on the emergence of charter schools and discussing the relationship to PDSs. (SM)