CHANGING THE WAY WE PREPARE SPECIAL EDUCATION LEADERS: SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS

Suzanne M. Martin, Ph. D.

Jonathan McIntire, Ph. D.

Tracy McKinney, Doctoral Candidate

Jillian Gourwitz, Doctoral Student

University of Central Florida

LEADERS OF CHANGE

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

Peter F. Drucker

NEED FOR CHANGE

“A shortage of any type of leader can seriously hamper the field’s infrastructure and hinder improved results of students with disabilities”

(Smith, Robb, West and Tyler, 2010, p. 26).

“Special education administrators play a critical role in the implementation of successful inclusion in diverse, standards-based environments. They provide the vision and leadership necessary to guide educators in both general and special education as they deliver instructional programs to meet the needs of diverse students with disabilities.”

(Voltz and Collins, 2010, p. 70)

NEED

NEED

Critical need for school districts and school leaders to have:full access to the best available research and practical wisdom receive strong support in transforming that knowledge into high-quality performance and serve as an internal advocate with your general education leadership peers continuous improvement for themselves and for those they lead

THE FOCUS OF OUR WORK to address the critical gaps between the

traditional preparation of urban special education mid-level administrators

the skills, knowledge and dispositions needed for full implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

Essential elements for organizing schools:

school leadership, welcoming attitude toward parents, quality of teaching staff, safe learning climate, and strong instructional guidance as essential elements for success.

Bryk, Bender Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu and Easton (2009) Organizing Schools For Improvement: Lessons from Chicago. The University of Chicago Press

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

“Leadership is an essential ingredient for ensuring that every child in America gets the educa tion they need to succeed”

(Wallace Foundation (2007) A Bridge to School Reform. The Wallace Foundation National Conference. New York, New York, pp. 1-32.)

CHALLENGES

“Graduates must be adept at addressing the special challenges of class, race, ethnicity, and language background, all concentrated in urban schools”

(Grubb & Tredway (2010)A School Leadership “Crisis” Despite Remedies. Education Week, January 19, 2010)

LEADERS OF CHANGE

Obstacles are those frightful things you see

when you take your eyes off the goal.

Henry Ford

CHALLENGES Most university programs that prepare

school administrators range in quality from “adequate to poor” (Archer, 2005, p.1).

DiPaola and Walther-Thomas (2002) found that leadership at the school level was identified as crucial to success.

LEADERS OF CHANGE

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Albert Einstein

GOALS

Design and deliver the program-12 doctoral level special education leaders, 2006-2012; 14 doctoral special education leaders, 2011-2014

Create a cadre of experts in special education to act as members of a National Faculty for the model;

Develop and disseminate a model of high-quality preparation and support for mid-level special education leaders in urban settings.

KEY COMPONENTS Quality preparation leading to an Ed.D.

degree

Cohort model

Highly qualified mentors and national faculty closely supporting participants throughout program

Travel and support for Harvard institute and national conferences

Tuition and stipends paid

NATIONAL FACULTY CHARACTERISTICS

Collaboration and problem solving skills;

Instructional leadership in urban special

education settings;

Interpersonal relationship building;

Family involvement;

Verbal and written communication;

NATIONAL FACULTY CHARACTERISTICS Knowledge of cultural diversity in the global

learning community;

Knowledge of research-based instructional practices; leadership skills;

Research related to implementing and sustaining positive change;

Data driven decisions

MENTORS CHARACTERISTICS Understand the process of obtaining a

doctorate Be Supportive Show Commitment Show Respect Be People oriented Motivate Be an effective teacher Be an achiever Demonstrate ability to provide visibility Values education and work

STATUS OF PROJECT

Twelve graduates of 2006-2011 NUSELI project

Project funded for 2011-2014

Eight new participants recruited for summer 2012

Hosted first NUSELI/CASE Winter Institute

STATUS OF PROJECT Harvard July 2012

Study of mentor component

Ten national presentations

Three state presentations

Planning to resubmit project for future funding

SUCCESS OF PROJECT Former mentor/current advisory board member

appointed Superintendent of Orange County Public Schools (10th largest district in country)

Participant promoted to Exceptional Education Director for the county (10th largest district in country)

Participant promoted to one of five Area Superintendents(10th largest district in country)

Participant promoted to Principal of Multilingual Pre-K through 5 school

CURRENT RESEARCH Conducting qualitative review of transcripts

from participants and their mentors

Surveying CASE members on characteristics of leaders

Videotaping new participants and their mentors

Analyzing survey results from principals in OCPS to assist in determining profession development needs of principals concerning students with disabilities

Searching for National Faculty

REFERENCES  Archer, A. (2005). Education Week, March 16,

2005. Bryk, A., Bender-Sebring, P., Allensworth, E.,

Luppescu, S., & Eastom, J. (2009) Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons fro Chicago. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Covey, S. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Free Press: New York

DiPaola and Walther-Thomas (2002).Principals and special education: The critical role of school leaders. Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO] Report.

DeVita, C. (2007). Leadership: The Bridge to Better Learning . A Bridge to School Reform. The Wallace Foundation National Conference. New York, New York, pp. 4-7.

REFERENCES Grubb & Tredway (2010). A School Leadership “Crisis”

Despite Remedies. Education Week, page Samuels, C. (2008). Principals group updates standards for

leadership. March 19, 2008. Smith, D., Robb, S., West, J., & Tyler, N. (2010). The

changing educational landscape: How special education leadership preparation can make a difference for teachers and their students with disabilities. Teacher Education and Special Education. 33(1), 25-43.

Voltz, D. & Collins, L. (2010). Preparing special education administrators for inclusion in divers, standard-based contexts: Beyond the council for exceptional children and the interstate school leaders licensure consortium. 33(1), 70-82.

Wallace Foundation (2007). A Bridge to School Reform. The Wallace Foundation National Conference. New York, New York, pp. 1-32.

WHAT THE PARTICIPANTS THINK OF LEADERSHIP

http://www.urbanspecialeducation.org/