The Institute for Educational Leadership's bi-monthly newsletter:

IELeadership Connections, Vol. 1, No. 1, September/October 2002

This edition's topic:  Building The Scaffold to Support Leadership for Student Learning

Contents:

• Building the Scaffold
• No Leader Left Behind? (editorial)
• News from the Field
• Things to Watch
• Reader Survey:  Your Biggest Leadership Challenge

BUILDING THE SCAFFOLD

IELeadership Connections was born in one of many discussions of how to connect leaders with what they need--not just information, but useful knowledge about who's doing what and what's going on now.  Education in America today is now “everybody’s business.”  Similarly, there is a range of complex and challenging issues that must be addressed in the current movement to reform and improve the nation’s schools.  Many educators feel overwhelmed by the hard-hitting criticism and persistent demands for immediate change; many in the business and political communities are frustrated with professional educators and confused by the education process; many community members are concerned about the lack of connections between the school and the community; and large numbers of parents worry whether success is within reach for their children.  Some are convinced that the education enterprise is broken beyond repair and, therefore, should be replaced.

For IEL, the facts—education is a top national priority; Americans at all levels, and many dedicated educators, business leaders, politicians and community members are working fervently to address the range of education issues—all represent an opportunity, an opportunity for positive change resulting in improved academic and social outcomes for all of the nation’s children.  IEL recognizes and believes it is important to acknowledge that there are many good schools across the country, that many students are doing well academically, and that many educators are effectively leading and managing the systems.  However, IEL also knows that the public schools continue to fail too many of our children, especially those who are persons of color and/or those who live in poverty or have any special needs. 

The current educational environment provides IEL an opportunity to do what it has historically done best: to raise, clarify, and demystify important American education issues; to convene diverse groups of people to engage in discourse related to these issues; and to disseminate information, multiple perspectives, and strategies related to reforming American education.  IEL is committed to seizing the moment; to capitalizing on the keen interest, expertise, and resources of the many new, interested “stakeholders” in education—all with a view toward improving opportunities for each of the 50 million children in our public schools, thereby ensuring the viability and, equally important, the promise of American democracy.  IEL has spent almost four decades examining the importance of leadership—at all levels—and building the infrastructure for achieving these goals.

IEL’s e-newsletter will provide a forum for important issues and discussions, the exchange of ideas, and the examination of what worked and what didn’t.  Educational issues will be viewed from inside and outside a variety of frames, and useful insights will be offered for people leading at the national, state, and local levels.  These frames will include policy, research, and practice, and IEL’s three programs of work:  · Developing and Supporting Leaders   · Strengthening School-Family-Community Connections, and  · Improving and Connecting the Policies and Systems that Support Children and Youth.        

IELeadership Connections will be published every other month.  Each edition will feature a topic area; a short editorial or commentary; policy, research, and practice updates and analyses; news from the field; and an occasional reader survey--all presented in a quick and painless read.  Your comments, suggestions, requests, and ideas are not only welcomed but essential if IELeadership Connections is to succeed.

NO LEADER LEFT BEHIND? (EDITORIAL)

The big issue at leadership tables around the country is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which mandates significant changes to the way schools and districts operate and in a very tight timeframe.  We've all read about governors, mayors, superintendents, principals, teachers and others who are worried or have said that they will not be able to comply.  This is the period where unintended consequences and differences in interpretation start to surface, and leaders have to take control of the process.  To quote Richard Elmore, “That grinding sound you hear out there is a system waking up to the fact that it is now responsible for the learning of children.  It’s metal on metal.  It’s not very well lubricated.”  ( Elmore’s quote is from Searching for a Superhero:  Can Principals Do It All?, a special report from the Education Writers Association, which can be ordered at http://www.ewa.org)

An interesting perspective on the effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was provided by Virginia Roach, Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education at a recent meeting of the New Educators for Changing Communities Initiative at the Ford Foundation in New York.  Dr. Roach noted that state school boards will need to pass policies at an extremely rapid pace in order to stay on schedule with NCLB--leading to further policy adjustments over time. 

There will be confusion and false starts as NCLB ramps up, but there is no turning back.  The goals which are set forth are daunting taken as a whole, but our children deserve nothing less.  As Education Secretary Rod Paige said in the second Jacqueline P. Danzberger memorial lecture at the National School Boards Association conference in April 2002, “This bipartisan Congressional effort offers us a basis to join hands in pursuit of a great American goal.  It offers us an opportunity to work together to create in America an education system that leaves no child behind.”  Continuous leadership keeps the process on track, and we know that changes in leadership can throw the system into chaos.  School boards, superintendents, elected officials, and community members need to keep their perspective and ensure that the process has a fair chance to work.  Every leader is needed and every leader needs support from every stakeholder.

For an excellent summary of the major changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and a list of related resources, go to the Learning First Alliance Web site at http://www.learningfirst.org/esea-related-resources.html

NEWS FROM THE FIELD

1) Paul Houston, Executive Director of the American Association of School Administrators says, "It is difficult to reconcile the work of leaders as strictly management when so much of it deals with the dreams and aspirations of people."  The September 2002 issue of The School Administrator is devoted to Spirituality in Leadership or your “inner connections.”  Nine essayists, including Deepak Chopra, Michael Fullan, and Margaret Wheatley weigh in on the subject.  The on-line edition can be accessed at http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/index.htm

2) The Annenberg Foundation has just released a report titled The Annenberg Challenge:  Lessons and Reflections on Public School Reform  “to impart what we learned from successes and failures” during the $500 million initiative and to “provide a springboard for continued aggressive and comprehensive school reform throughout the nation.”  Three of the lessons learned support the intent of this newsletter:  · Schools are too isolated. · Schools need lots of allies. ·Schools need strong leadership.  To order a copy of the report or to download the pdf version, go to http://www.lessonsandreflections.org/lessons/report 

3)  The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) is calling for nominations to participate in an exciting study of “Positive Deviance.”  In every community, organization or social group, there are individuals whose exceptional behaviors or practices enable them to get better results than their neighbors with the exact same resource.  NSDC is looking for education’s positive deviants.  The deadline for nominations is October 15, 2002.  To nominate yourself or another principal, teacher, or superintendent who has evidence that his school or her district has risen above the fray, contact Stephanie Hirsh at NSDCHirsh@aol.com

THINGS TO WATCH

To keep you connected, we’ll be monitoring the following new projects for you in months and years to come:

1) Teachers for a New Era:  Also at the previously mentioned Ford Foundation meeting, Dan Fallon of Carnegie Corporation of New York reported on a new national initiative to improve the quality of teaching that is expected to have a big public policy payoff. Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Ford Foundation, and The Annenberg Institute will award grants to Cal State Northridge, Michigan State, The Bank Street College of Education (in New York), and the University of Virginia to develop effective teacher education models that can be replicated elsewhere.  Grantees will be required to design teacher preparation programs that are research-based, engage the Arts & Sciences faculty, are clinically taught, and monitor student achievement gains under the tutelage of program graduates.  Grant recipients must also mentor graduates beyond the degree/licensing point.  It is expected that “transformative change” will occur in the way teachers are prepared and that resulting models will be adopted by legislatures across the country.  For more information on the initiative, go to http://www.carnegie.org/sub/program/teachers.html

2)  Kellogg Leadership for Community Change:  The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has selected IEL and the Center for Ethical Leadership ( http://www.ethicalleadership.org) to coordinate the first “session” of the Kellogg Leadership for Community Change initiative designed to encourage new models of leadership based on community engagement and participation.  The first session will focus on developing a cadre of leaders who can strengthen public will and action towards quality teaching and learning.  Six  communities and host agencies were selected through a competitive process to participate in the inaugural leadership cohort:  The Public Policy and Education Fund, Buffalo, NY; Migizi Communications, Minneapolis, MN; Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, MT; The New Mexico Foundation, Albuquerque, NM; Llano Grande, Edcouch, TX; and New Paradigm Partners, Ladysmith, WI. 

3) Following the Leaders Project:  The Education Leaders Council was awarded $3.5 million by the U.S. Department of Education to "launch a nationwide initiative aimed at developing state models of action plans for putting the principles of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act into practice.  Through the Following The Leaders Project, ELC will identify states that can 'lead by example,' and help them establish a primer on assessment and accountability that others can use."  For more information, go to the ELC website at http://www.educationleaders.org/

4) Division A of the American Educational Research Association, the Laboratory for Student Success (the regional educational laboratory at Temple University), and the University Council for Educational Administration are collaborating on a task force developing research on educational leadership.  A summary brief covering what is known about educational leadership will be published early in 2003, followed by a volume that will include a literature review, discussions of issues facing educational leaders, and a research agenda in fall 2003.

READER SURVEY: YOUR BIGGEST LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE?

A regular feature of IELeadership Connections will be a quick reader survey to make sure we stay on top of what's going on in the real world as well as issues that interest you.  Please remember that these are informal exchanges and are not intended to be "scientifically-based research."   We will collect your responses and use them to inform future issues of IELC.  We will not be able to provide a personal response to each submission. 

The reader survey question is: 

What is your biggest leadership challenge right now?  Be brief, but specific. 

(No Child Left Behind is not a fair answer.  Something like  "I'm a rural school superintendent with nowhere to send the students who want to transfer to higher performing schools” would be better.  You can be cryptic as long as we understand your point.  Your editors feel obligated to write in complete sentences, but our readers should not feel similarly constrained.)  Send your response to survey@iel.org with "survey" in the subject line.

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Submission Deadline for the next issue:  October 31, 2002

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ABOUT IELEADERSHIP CONNECTIONS

IELeadership Connections is a free bi-monthly e-newsletter focusing on leadership for education.  The editors are Mary Podmostko and Denise Slaughter.  Gerardo Medrano is the assistant editor.  Please feel free to share this newsletter with interested parties.  The editors will do their best to provide active links and information but cannot be responsible for expired links.

To submit a news item, suggest a topic for future publication, or provide feedback, send an e-mail to feedback@iel.org with “IELC” in the subject line.  Submissions should include a link at which readers may find additional information on the highlighted program or issue. 

To initiate or discontinue a subscription to IELeadership Connections, please send an e-mail to subscribe@iel.org with “subscribe” or “unsubscribe” in the subject line. 

This e-newsletter is made possible by grants from The Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and MetLife Foundation.

ABOUT IEL

For more than thirty-five years, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL)—a non-profit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC—has worked to achieve better results for children and youth. At the heart of IEL’s effectiveness is a unique ability to bring people together to identify and resolve issues across policy, program, and sector boundaries. As a natural outgrowth of IEL’s work, diverse networks have been created and nurtured.

Today, IEL is working to help individuals and institutions increase their capacity to work together to improve outcomes for children and young people.  We are building and supporting a cadre of diverse leaders, strengthening the capacity of education and related systems, and informing the development and implementation of policies.  IEL supports a national network of over 15,000 policymakers and practitioners, publishes books and reports, facilitates meetings, produces seminars and conferences, and disseminates ideas that have an impact on policy at all governance levels.  Please visit our Web site at www.iel.org to learn more about IEL.

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