19 Universities, State Academy Networks Receive SREB Leadership Program Bids.

Education Editors & Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 12, 2001

The Southern Regional Education Board has invited 19 universities and state academies to participate in a new program to improve school leadership in the 16 SREB states.

"The goal of this new program is to design, deliver and evaluate a school leader program that emphasizes the critical success factors for comprehensive school improvement and for higher student learning that can be adopted by other educational programs," said Mark Musick, SREB president.

The multiyear program recently was awarded a $3 million grant from the Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund's Leaders Count initiative, which is designed to address the national challenge of improving educational leadership in order to increase student achievement.

"We had more than 60 applications for this program, and we were very impressed with the quality of those applications. The final decision on the proposals to be funded was very difficult," said Gene Bottoms, SREB senior vice president.

"The leadership initiative will enable SREB to work with states to prepare existing and aspiring school leaders who can give focus to curriculum, instruction and student achievement -- a type of leadership that is the missing link in current standards and accountability efforts," said Bottoms.

He said the program would have two tracks: one for universities and the other for leadership academy networks in the SREB states.

Bottoms said each participating institution will be expected to design a preparation program for school leaders that is linked tightly to a comprehensive school-improvement framework and to state accountability standards.

"Each participating institution of higher education is expected, over the next three years, to create and field-test a design for school leaders' preparation that is dramatically different from the traditional one and makes fundamental changes in what is taught, how it is taught and how institutions work with K-12 schools to design and deliver the program," he said.

Bottoms said the network of state leadership academies will work to design a program for a network of school leadership teams. These teams will work together over an extended period to apply research-based knowledge to improve curriculum and instructional practices in their schools.

Higher education institutions invited to participate in the network are:

-- Jackson State University (Mississippi);

-- Oklahoma State University;

-- Clemson University (South Carolina);

-- East Tennessee State University;

-- University of North Texas;

-- Jacksonville State University (Alabama);

-- University of North Florida;

-- Western Kentucky University;

-- University of Louisiana at Lafayette;

-- Towson University (Maryland);

-- Appalachian State University (North Carolina); and

-- Old Dominion University (Virginia).

State academy networks invited to participate are:

-- Arkansas Leadership Academy;

-- West Virginia Center for Professional Development;

-- University of Delaware Leadership Academy;

-- Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership (Florida);

-- Kentucky Department of Education Leadership Academy;

-- Maryland Department of Education Leadership Academy; and

-- South Carolina Department of Education.

SREB periodically will conduct conferences to share the universities' and academy networks' accomplishments. All applicants will be invited to participate in the conferences, enabling the program to have an impact in all SREB states.