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June 28, 2006 --The Wallace Foundation
and the University of Virginia jointly announced today the launch of an
unprecedented executive training program — drawing on the multiple
perspectives of faculty from U.Va.’s graduate schools of education
and business — for senior teams of state and district education leaders,
beginning this summer.
In an era when education leaders are held accountable for raising the academic
performance of all students, the job of leading today’s schools has
seriously outpaced the available training, especially for state and district
leaders who set policy for and lead complex urban districts. The Executive
Leadership Program for Educators at the University of Virginia in association
with The Wallace Foundation will emphasize mid-career development of teams
of high-level education leaders who share responsibility for making changes
in their organizations and across their states to improve school leadership
and its impact on student achievement.
Wallace awarded a grant of $5 million for up to five years to U.Va. to
have its Curry School of Education and Darden School of Business jointly
offer their varied leadership perspectives and expertise to create an unmatched
training opportunity. The program will be presented by U.Va.’s Darden-Curry
Partnership for Leaders in Education. A second $5 million grant will also
go to Harvard University, involving its graduate schools of education,
business and government.
“School leadership is as demanding a profession as any business or
public
sector job,” said Curry
School Dean David W. Breneman, University
Professor and the Newton and Rita Meyers Professor in Economics of Education. “We
recognized several years ago at U.Va. that executive education is as valuable
for mid-career education leaders as it is for business leaders. The Darden-Curry
Partnership has established a track record of achievement in this unique
form of collaboration, and the Wallace grant will carry our activities
to new levels of performance and civic contribution.”
“There are many training programs for school principals, but few
exist for top state and district education leaders who establish policies,
incentives
and cultures that enable those principals to succeed in lifting student
achievement,” added M. Christine DeVita, president of The Wallace
Foundation. “Wallace recently commissioned a survey that reveals
a strong demand for this kind of executive training, particularly if it
can overcome barriers of cost and time. This new partnership with Harvard
and U.Va. aims to address these barriers and offer a quality experience
for very busy people who, working together, can greatly improve public
education in their states and districts.”
U.Va. and Harvard will each work with two states, and four urban districts
within each state, to form the first cohorts of leaders to participate
in the programs. Leadership teams from Delaware and Indiana will participate
in U.Va.’s program; and teams from Kentucky and Ohio will attend
the program at Harvard. All states are currently participating in the Wallace
education leadership initiative.
The executive leadership training programs will provide an opportunity
for participating state and district teams to work more collaboratively
in such areas as leading change and team development; leadership for instructional
improvement; methods to accelerate leader performance, including data-driven
decisionmaking; addressing stakeholder engagement around critical state
and local issues; and sustaining improvements in school and student achievement.
“The spirit of the Darden-Curry collaboration is motivated by our
faith that best administrative practice knows no professional boundaries,” said
Darden School Dean Robert F. Bruner, the Charles C. Abbott Professor of
Business Administration and Distinguished Professor of Business Administration. “The
Darden and Curry Schools blend their expertise about high-performance leadership
in common cause to lift our nation’s schools.”
The U.Va. and Harvard programs may also provide valuable lessons to other
colleges and universities on how to build sustainable leadership programs – drawing
on the expertise of their education, business and other schools – that
can fill the unmet demand for high-quality, job-relevant training for senior
education leaders, while being feasible in terms of the time and cost to
participants.
The program at the University of Virginia
Over the next five years, U.Va. will provide training to three cohorts
of approximately 100 leaders each, for a total of up to 300 participants
from six states and approximately 24 districts. Each cohort will consist
of five ten-member teams of state and district leaders, which will include
chief state school officers, state board members, district superintendents
and their senior staff, school principals, board members, and possibly
civic and union leaders.
U.Va.’s executive leadership training program will build on the education
and business schools’ successful executive education program and
the state’s Wallace-supported “turnaround specialist” training
program for a select cadre of principals that have successfully integrated
education and business content.
Each year, beginning this summer and continuing through
the next two years, the Delaware and Indiana teams
will attend a five-day summer campus residency
and a two-day training session in their home states. The program also
includes on-site coaching and an annual alumni network
gathering following the program’s
second year.
U.Va.’s business and education schools will customize program offerings
to the state-district teams based on a detailed analysis of local contexts
and needs. The focus will be on building capabilities within participating
teams, using action projects, case methodology, computer simulation and
coaching to train participants to lead organizational change. Team progress
will be regularly measured and assessed, status reports provided and changes
made to ensure long-term success. U.Va. intends to sustain the program
through a variety of means, including working with private funding sources
and corporate sponsors.
By the end of two years, the goal is for each state and district team
to have well-trained leaders who have had extensive practice in effective
problem-solving approaches and to apply them in ways that result in significant
improvements in education leadership practices and student learning at
the state, district and school levels.
The Wallace Foundation seeks to support and share effective ideas and
practices that expand learning and enrichment opportunities for all people.
Its three
current objectives are:
•
Strengthen education leadership to improve student achievement
• Enhance out-of-school learning opportunities
• Expand participation in arts and culture
For more information and research on these and other related topics,
please visit our Knowledge Center at www.wallacefoundation.org.
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