Germinating a Branch; Nurturing Leadership.

In her last Exchange column as President of ACEI, Shirley Raines talked to us about our "Legacy of Leadership" and reminded us that "ACEI has the highest concentration of potential leaders worldwide of any organization I know" (Childhood Education, Spring 2001, p. 158-A). Truer words could not be spoken, and tapping into that potential to ensure our legacy of leadership can be a challenge. Shirley listed four suggestions that focus on the steps many of us in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania have been following for almost a year now as we work to start a branch at Kutztown University. We realize that to nurture young leaders, we need all active branch, but who has the time to initiate such a huge project? ("Will you help plant the seeds?" asked the Little Red Hen. "Not I," said the ..., "I have too much work to do already").

In this exploratory, start-up phase for our Kutztown Branch, we have been working to cultivate our own leadership skills. Each of us has gone about this in our own way, building upon our unique styles. For example, Susan Miller offered a writers' workshop to encourage faculty who need to become active writers; this form of leadership will continue as Susan mentors writers individually. Betty Liddicoat is mentoring young teachers as they polish their verbal articulation skills for oral presentations. Terry Stahler is building enthusiasm among middle level teachers. John McAndrew is promoting reading excellence among teacher candidates, while Joseph McSparran is organizing the urban contingency. Joseph Elias is making sure we keep a scholarly focus, and Kathy Dolgos is holding us on course. The momentum for our branch is growing with each contact and every project.

A big challenge for our new branch will come in the fall when we test our leadership with the governance arm of our university. ("Who will help pay for the bread?" asked the Little Red Hen.) ACEI provides some financial support for branches, and Mynor Gonzalez offers management expertise, but how much financial support will be available from the university? We're faced with alarming financial challenges already. For example, the state is cutting back on spending, and so we wonder how Linda Gibbs will be able to continue the initiative that provides authentic contacts among teacher candidates and master teachers. Perhaps our branch can partially overcome this and other obstacles by bringing master teachers and teacher candidates together during our branch meetings.

We believe that we can maintain, and even raise, the quality of our scholarship (while politicians increase class sizes and demand higher test scores) with branch meetings that focus on grand conversations about articles from the most recent issues of Childhood Education, the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, and the professional focus newsletters. We will endeavor to send representatives of our branch to the Annual International Conference and Exhibition, where they will be able to interact with educators from all over the world. Talk about authentic models; just wait until our branch members meet colleagues from the Hong Kong Branch. I know that if Ramsey Koo and his colleagues can stimulate the start-up of new schools in rural China, he and his colleagues can persuade our branch members to send materials to the children as one of our service projects. Such a service project, and others like it, will further the mission of ACEI, as well as enrich our community of lifelong learners.

How successful will we be as we work "to bring into active cooperation all individuals and groups concerned with children"? Ask us next year at this time, and every year thereafter. At the international, state/province, and local levels, ACEI members are passionate workers who are dedicated to the fulfillment of every child's potential and to the professional development of the classroom teacher. Kutztown's branch is incubating--preparing to grow and become an active group. We will appreciate any insights that you may want to offer us.

Cordially, Jeanie Burnett, Vice President Representing Intermediate/ Middle Childhood

Purposes of ACEI

ACEI works, through its membership, to:

* Promote the inherent rights, education, and well-being of all children in their homes, schools, and communities

* Work for desirable conditions, programs, and practices for children from infancy through early adolescence 

* Bring into active cooperation all individuals and groups concerned with children

* Raise the standard of preparation for those actively involved with the care and development of children

* Encourage the continuous professional growth of educators

* Focus the public's attention on the rights and needs of children, and on the ways various programs must be adjusted to fit those rights and needs.