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Leadership Academy for
Minnesota Charter and Alternative Schools.
Are you a
passionate educator with a desire to develop excellent leadership skills and
improve student success? Consider
joining a select group of 15-20 emerging leaders as part of the 2009-2010 Leadership
Academy for Minnesota Charter and Alternative Schools. With funding from the Minnesota Department of
Education, this year-long professional growth opportunity is offered free of
charge to participants.
The overall mission of the
Leadership Academy is to provide a research-based adult learning model that
trains, supports, and moves charter school and alternative program leaders into
action so that students and families in Minnesota have expanded access to
excellent educational options.
Thanks to Curt Ulrich and Jessica Smaagaard who worked
with Leadership Academy participants for a day. Focus was on how to
encourage, support, monitor and assist employees. Evaluation of the day was
extremely positive.
Charter and
alternative school leaders play an enormous role in moving education reform
forward into the 21st century.
There has been rapid student enrollment growth in charters and
alternative programs over the past five years, and this has contributed to the
sense of urgency in better preparing leaders.
To address this need, many education advocates, along with State
Department of Education officials, have recommended creation of a strong,
research based training program that involves collaboration between MDE, the University of Minnesota, businesses, and community
leaders. This proposal responds to that
recommendation.
Many publications and research
studies have found that school leaders need to be excellent visionaries and
excellent manager; they need to develop expertise in school improvement,
managing data and curriculum, and understanding instruction, among many other
roles and duties (Schmoker, 1999, 2006).
Charter school leaders also must have knowledge and skills in operating
a non-profit organization and working directly with non-profit boards. William Ouchi (2003) has emphasized that
school leaders are the key to education reform, specifically noting seven keys
to success for school leaders: (1) every
building leader is an entrepreneur; (2) every school controls its own budget;
(3) everyone is accountable for student performance; (4) everyone delegates
authority to those below; (5) there is a burning focus on student achievement;
(6) every school is a community of learners; and (7) families have real choices
among a variety of unique schools.
(Ouchi, 2003). The Leadership Academy proposed here will draw on
fundamental adult learning principles (including ongoing reflection, dialogue,
and application of new learning ) to address this wide range of competencies.
2009 Leadership Academy Cohort 2 updates
Leadership Academy Cohort 2 members visited several
charter and alternative schools in Chicago in October. Our goal was to
learn more about the details of leading extremely effective charter and
alternative public schools. We interviewed a number of leaders (and
some students) from several of the schools visited. We agreed to share
some of the most interesting and valuable things we learned on the
trip. Thanks to the Walton Foundation for helping make this trip possible.
Here are clips and pictures from their trip:
Click below to see a short clip of Social Justice High School's student values.
https://netfiles.umn.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-11463691_1
Click below to see a short clip of students from Community Links High School talk about their educational opportunities.
Leadership Academy participants visit Enlace Chicago on the first day in Chicago.
Enlace Chicago is the lead agency in Little Village for the New
Communities Program (NCP), a city wide initiative that seeks to improve
the Quality of Life in 16 Chicago neighborhoods, in partnership with
the Local Support Corporation (LISC) and with support from the McArthur
Foundation (www.enlacechicago.org).
Leadership Academy participants stop to look at a mural inside Social Justice High school which is located on the Little Village Lawndale High School Campus.
Tamara Witzl (far left), principal of Telpochcalli Community Fine Arts School, meets with Leadership Academy participants.
William Olsen (far right), principal of Noble Street Academy, talks to Leadership Academy participants.
Leadership Academy participants talk with students from the University of Chicago Charter School-Woodlawn Secondary.
Leadership Academy training began July 27th, 2009. New participants (Cohort 2) met with their business and education mentors. Guest speakers include David Domenici and Commissioner Alice Seagren.
Guest speaker: David Domenici
Co-founder of the See Forever Foundation/chair of the See Forever Board of Directors/founding board member of the Maya Angelou Public Charter School Board
Guest speaker: Education Commissioner Alice Seagren
Cohort 2 members meet with their mentors
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