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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
| LEADERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT FOUNDATION
The Council offers several opportunities for professional growth and development. Following is a summary for your reference. See Calendar of Events for dates & locations. Aspiring Superintendent Programs Educational Leadership Workshop (6 hours per session) This one-day workshop is offered in April in four locations including Long Island, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. The program targets administrators seeking a career as a superintendent and who have been nominated by a superintendent of schools or a university professor. Candidates are identified for possessing leadership qualities that are an integral part of the superintendency. Topics covered include: the superintendency as a career; the educational and financial leadership roles specific to the superintendency; the superintendent and school board relationship; professional and personal challenges associated with the job; the resume, credentials and interview, and the rewards of being a school leader. Pathways to the Superintendency (6 hours per session) Offered in early December in Albany, this one-day program is for those seriously considering following a career path to the superintendency within the next few years. It concentrates on four general themes within the role: change as a constant, human relations as essential, skillful management of resources as a priority, and personal and professional well-being as a need. The workshop also includes how to select a superintendency that is the right fit, perspectives and experiences from current practicing school leaders, and information from district superintendents and search consultants on conducting a successful job search. Programs for Cabinet Members (6 hours per session) The Leadership for Educational Achievement Foundation, Inc. is committed to offering a variety of programs to The Council's Cabinet members. Cabinet members are deputy or assistant superintendents for curriculum and instruction. LEAF offers pre-conference workshops on instructional issues during our Fall Leadership Summit and Mid-Winter Institute. We also offer a program each spring that features nationally-known experts to offer high-quality programs on their area of expertise. New Superintendents Institute (6 hours per session) The New Superintendents Institute is a year-long seminar series tailored to making the transition to the superintendency successful. Participants may opt to attend individual workshops or all five workshops in the series. A certificate is awarded upon completion of three of five seminars. The New Superintendent Orientation is held in July, prior to the start of the school year, and offers an introduction to Council and LEAF staff and services, the Commissioner of Education and key SED staff. Themes throughout the series include school board relationships, budget development, the State’s assessment program and reporting requirements, and the superintendent’s role as an advocate for the school district and students. The New Superintendents Success Seminar series continues with sessions in October (Fall Conference), December, January (Mid-Winter Conference) and February. They feature opportunities to meet with veteran superintendents in open roundtable discussions to gain information about issues they have faced: the legislative scene in Albany, Regents issues and strategies to engage in problem-solving with theirpeers. Topics include superintendent evaluations, financial and instructional leadership, ethics, communication strategies, and personnel management. Participants play a significant part in developing each seminar’s agenda. New Superintendents are strongly encouraged to attend the Institute. 2009-2010 Program Dates: New Superintendents Orientation (July 19 & 20, 2009) Albany New Superintendents Success Seminar (at Fall Leadership Summit, October 3, 2009) Rochester New Superintendents Success Seminar (December 4, 2009) Albany New Superintendents Success Seminar (at Mid-Winter Institute, January 9, 2010) Albany New Superintendents Success Seminar (February 5, 2010) Albany Early Career Superintendent (52 hours) This seminar series supports and encourages superintendents to expand their leadership potential and capacity through a sustained, cohort-based 10-month program. It is an integrated, developmental experience that builds on superintendents’ knowledge and wealth of experience. The program offers opportunities to learn how to frame and reflect upon their own experiences, to learn with their peers, experienced superintendents, and educational experts through ongoing intensive activities. It combines self-directed learning with team support and experienced guidance. The program consists of four one-day sessions followed by a two and a half day summer institute. The series is being offered in collaboration with Bank Street College and Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES. The program is 6 1/2 days throughout the year and BOCES Aid is available. The Summer Institute at Harvard (15 hours, 2 ½ day session) The Summer Institute at Harvard is offered every July on the Harvard Campus for 30 school superintendents. The program has been offered for the past 14 years and provides an opportunity for superintendents to exchange ideas with Harvard University professors and highly respected education researchers. Over the years, speakers have included Dr. Roland Barth, Dr. Howard Gardner, Dr. Richard Elmore, and Dr.Thomas Payzant. The program provides the advantage of presenters from multiple divisions of Harvard’s Graduate School, including the School of Education, the Business School, and the School of Government. Frames of Leadership (formerly Dimensions of Leadership) This program will be offered regionally at BOCES and The Council's annual Mid-Winter Conference. Frames of Leadership, based on leadership theory and practice, is for all superintendents and assistant superintendents regardless of experience and district size. It examines the issues faced by school leaders and incorporates the knowledge, skills and experiences of both faculty and program participants. It provides a rare opportunity to reflect on professional practice and build collaborative networks. The curriculum is based on Bohlman and Deal's four frames of leadership which include political, symbolic, structural, and human resource leadership. Structural Leadership addresses policies, procedures, job descriptions, organizational structures and other formal mechanisms to clarify situations and/or problem solve; Human Resource Leadership emphasizes the superintendent's role in the empowerment of people, understanding their desires, concerns, strengths and limitations, and providing them with psychological support when needed; Political Leadership focuses on the competition for power and scarce resources and the management of conflict among individuals and/or groups and the importance of coalition building; and Symbolic Leadership focuses on the development of organizational meaning, inspiring others, and helping them to feel a sense of commitment or common purpose. Developing High Performing Schools: Characteristics and Models (formerly Systemic Instructional Leadership) This one-day offering will discuss common characteristics of high performing schools and school districts and the roles building and district leaders can play in moving any district to higher performance by adults and students. The development and use of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) will be highlighted, including analysis of a district's practices that has moved to PLC-based staff and program development. The analysis will provide insights into the successful strategies for full implementation that any district can use as well as noting and discussing the difficult points in the process. Superintendent-School Board Relations and Team Governance (6 hours for a full-day session) This one day session will provide superintendents with time-tested successful practices for developing and maintaining strong, positive relationships and team governance practices with their Boards of Education. The session will discuss characteristics of effective Boards and ways to deal with the most common difficulties of dysfunctional Boards, and Board-Superintendent relationships. Participants will have opportunities to analyze their specific relationship and share the successful practices they use as well as difficulties they have had or are experiencing with their Board. Materials will include checklists for effective Board-Superintendent leadership and governance, case studies for discussion purposes, and short readings about best practices for Board-Superintendent relationships. Leadership for Student Achievement (30 hours) Leadership for Student Achievement is geared specifically towards strengthening district leadership teams focused on working together on improving student achievement. To guide the work of the team, superintendents are encouraged to attend. The series consists of five sessions throughout the year that are led by nationally renowned experts in the areas of professional learning communities, change leadership, curriculum and assessment, professional development and organizational effectiveness. Topics are pertinent to all school districts – rural, suburban and urban. Throughout the year, teams focus on how to best influence student achievement in their districts. Time is incorporated into each session for district planning, sharing and team-building. This year’s speakers include: Dr. Rick & Becky Dufour, Michael Fullan, Giselle Martin-Kniep, Jay McTighe and Douglas Reeves. Teams have a unique opportunity for open discussion, reflection, gaining insight from experts and other school districts. Team members have ranged from teachers, teacher leaders, board members, assistant principals, principals, assistant superintendents, and superintendents. BOCES Aid is available for this program. Balanced Leadership: The ultimate outcome reflects what school leaders will know and be able to do as a result of their participation in the consortium including the use of research-based practices to choose the right focus for change initiatives, leading change, and developing a purposeful community in order to improve student achievement, and the personal and collective capacity to sustain continuous improvement. The program will be offered by The Council’s trained faculty. If you wish to develop a consortium, please contact The Council.
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