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| Network Connection |
Volume 1, Issue 2
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The National School Leaders Network Newsletter
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Fall 2008
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Dear Network Members, Partners and Friends of NSLN,
Summer was full of a great deal of in-depth investigations and consultations regarding how other non-profit start ups such as NSLN have evolved through the development, refinement of model and sustainability phases. We are now working with The Osborne Group and with Josh Barron, from Apollo Philanthropy, on two key initiatives in these important areas. We are very pleased to have received grants from the Rainwater Charitable Foundation and New School Venture Funds to engage in this important strategic planning.
I am proud to announce we have hired Jody Roy as Program Director. Jody graduated from Colgate with a degree in Economics and Education and was awarded a Masters in Education from Harvard. She has been an editor at Houghton Mifflin and has worked extensively in leadership with Lighthouse Academies. She has also worked abroad in India and Trinidad in the educational leadership field. Jody started her career as a Teach for America teacher in Washington, DC. Jody will bring a great deal of ideas, wisdom, spirit and fresh outlook to NSLN and I am very pleased she will be working with me.
Elizabeth Neale, Executive Director
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Results Indicate NSLN Making A Difference
Sam Intrator, Ph.D., and Megan Scribner
Analysis of data collected from August 2006 - June 2008 from 29 NSLN cohorts across the country gives NSLN a good report card for programming, leadership development, impacting student achievement, creating learning communities, professional coaching and support and renewing strength.
The study design adapted Guskey's (2000) approach to evaluating professional development and was focused on five core areas:
1. Quality of Experience
2. Knowledge Development, School Leadership Issues
3. Improvement of Leadership Skills and Capacities
4. Application of Learned Skills
5. Student Learning
Among the findings:
§ 84% reported that school achievement scores trended upwards during the year they participated in NSLN.
§ 92% reported increased scores described a relationship between the higher scores and participation in NSLN.
§ 97% described NSLN as highly relevant to their work and leadership.
§ 97% described NSLN as either "the most useful" or "among the most useful and meaningful professional development experience they have had in their career.
§ 100% of principals who responded said that the NSLN experience had helped them be a better leader.
§ 100% of the principals in the first three years of school leadership described NSLN as "crucial" to their development.
§ 99% describe NSLN as an excellent or very good place to learn new skills and ideas. 94% cited instances where NSLN had positively influenced their work with teachers and staff.
§ 83% detailed how participation in NSLN led them to implement a specific initiative focused on improving teaching and learning in their schools.
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Board News
Cordell Jones, one of the co-founding facilitators of our first network in San Antonio, Texas has been appointed to the Board as the Facilitator representative for the 08-09 school year replacing Franchesca Cain whose term expired over the summer.
Al Witten has taken the position of Interim Director of the Harvard Principals Center on top of all the incredible work he is doing with Harvard in South Africa.
For a complete list of Board members and their biographies, please visit the NSLN website.
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Funding
I am pleased to announce that NSLN has received additional funding from the Triangle Leadership Academy to widen our impact in Raleigh, North Carolina with the launch of two additional networks there. And thanks to the generosity of the Trinity University Principal Center which has made it possible for us to launch a third network in San Antonio, Texas.
NSLN will expand beyond the U.S. mainland as the Kamehameha schools and the Hawaii Department of Education are partnering to fully fund a network there beginning in January 2009.
In Massachusetts, the Boston network has received funding from the Courage to Lead program and the Western Mass network has received a commitment from the Berkshire County Superintendents and Legacy Banks Foundation.
Lee County in Southern Florida has contributed to the existing Florida network and will provide funding for an additional network. Anderson University is supporting the Indiana network. The Albany, CT/RI and San Diego networks have received individual donations.
In addition, we have had an influx of in-kind donations for the 2008-2009 school year.
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Network News
The focus of June Facilitator Workshop was a presentation and working session on theories of adult learning with Ellie Drago-Severson. The joint meeting with Board was very successful and informative for all.
Welcome to our new networks that started this Fall, one in San Antonio and two in Raleigh.
I would also like to welcome our new NSLN facilitators, Lori Gallegos, Carm Minami, Al Nagasako, and Karen Bessette, who participated in the New Facilitator Workshop held in October.
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Program Development and Evaluation
A 360-degree feedback instrument has been designed and piloted to understand whether those who work with the participants discerned any change in behavior, leadership capacity, or performance across the year that the principal participated in NSLN. Participation in this survey is now available to all NSLN members.
Participants receive confidential, anonymous feedback about their overall leadership and about the implementation of a specific initiative identified as linked to their participation in NSLN.
Teachers, assistant principals, district office personnel, parents, and even students answer questions such as how the school community views the success of the initiative, the impact of the initiative on their school, and suggestions for how to move the work forward.
The steps for creating the survey are quick and easy and there is no cost to the principals for this valuable survey! The 360° Survey can be an important vehicle for you to get valuable feedback on your efforts. If you're interested in participating in a NSLN 360° Survey this year, please contact Megan Scribner.
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Recognition
Linda Bleile, a member of Brenda Brown's network, is the new President-Elect of the Maine Principals' Association.
Ada Dolch, facilitator of a New York City network, is one of the featured presenters in the September 11 National Memorial Museum DVD which addresses the issue of engaging in public service as a means of "never forgetting" the events of 9/11.
Jesse Dingle, facilitator of the one of the Raleigh, North Carolina networks, was named the Director for Talent Management for North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction where he will play a major role in administrator and teacher professional development, support administrator and teacher retention and recruitment.
Jesse also received the Korean Studies Workshop Fellowship; with this fellowship he was able to travel to Korea with 49 other US teachers and administrators where they spent two weeks learning about the people, their culture, and educational system.
Mary Padilla, facilitator, and Amy Andino from one of the NYC networks received the Women In Education Award from the National Council of Puerto Rican Women, New York Chapter.
Deborah Wehking, Principal Merrick Educational Center, a K-12 Homebound School, will be featured in a segment of Class Act on WLRN on Monday, November 24, 2008. The segment focuses on the work of the teachers in the Homebound/Hospital Instructional Program, and includes an interview with Deborah, a member of Sandi Bisceglia's Florida cohort.
Deborah's school, as part of their recognition of October as Disability Awareness Month, the City of Coral Gables will proclaim October 14, 2008 as "Merrick Educational Center Day". At their meeting on that day and on Coral Gables TV a video highlighting the programs at Merrick [K-12 Homebound School] will be featured.
Debbie Drumm, from Rachelle Salerno's Albany, New York network, received the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award and will be traveling to Washington, DC for the official ceremony and award this Fall.
Michael Rafferty, who co-leads the CT/RI network with Janice DeFrances, was chosen as the Connecticut Principal of the Year.
David Mauricio, a member of the Crystal Barton's Buffalo network, received his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy, with a specialty in Resiliency of Urban Youth, from S.U.N.Y. College at Buffalo.
Janice DeFrances, co-facilitator of the CT/RI network, completed her post-doctorate in Neuropsychology from Fielding Institute from Santa Barbara, California.
The grade assigned to the Merrick Educational Center, a K-12 Homebound School, by the state of Florida increased from an F to a C in one year; especially noteworthy, since the grade is based entirely upon the FCAT scores of students who are homebound due to medical conditions.Deborah Wehking, Merrick's Principal, is a member of Sandi Bisceglia's cohort.
Santa Clara Elementary School in Miami has gone from an "F" to a solid "A" in just four years. Congratulations to the teachers, students and parents and to Marie P. Caceres, Principal, and member of Sandi Bisceglia's cohort.
Suzanne Roy's San Diego network has made some impressive strides in their school scores: Candy Singh's school, a Title 1, made the local papers for remarkable growth in their API scores (+58 points). Michael Grove's Carmel Valley Middle School's API grew by +27 and Suzanne's own school's API grew +27.
From Vicki Baldwin's group, Linda Webb was promoted to principal of Gonzalo Garza Independence High School, Anabel Garza was promoted to Reagan High School and Valerie Taylor-Schkade was honored for her work at Walnut Creek Elementary School for her work with CATCH (Coordinated Approach for Children's Health).
Vicki Baldwin, facilitator of the Austin, TX network, was named by the Austin Partners in Education as the High School Principal of the Year.
Muriel Summers' school was named by the US Department of Education as one of the top elementary magnet schools in America; Muriel is the facilitator of one of the Raleigh networks.
Congratulations to all!!
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Member Spotlight
Cordell Jones, Ed. D. is the facilitator representative on the NSLN Board of Directors for the 2008-2009 school year. In 2006 he and Terri Chidgey were asked to create a cohort in San Antonio. After a few months the interest level grew so much that they partnered with Trinity University Principal Center to offer a second cohort. Since then, the need continues to grow, with a third cohort launched this fall, and a fourth one to be added in January.
Cordell's group has focused on topics like: building capacity as an instructional leader, how to have those courageous conversations with staff, improving time management to be in classes more often and how to balance work and personal life.
His group has fully embraced Malachai Pancoast's "The Breakthrough Coach" as a way of improving the system in which a school functions. This year they will be focusing on building a collaborative culture on your campus and how to coach teachers to help them develop, grow and build their own capacity.
Members of his cohort implemented Literacy Coaches this year and a 30 minute Response to Intervention (RtI) time to best meet the needs of struggling students.
Cordell's work in his school indicates that the percentage of students reading below grade level has dropped from 37% in 2004 to just 9% last year. Additionally, his school's state ranking by the Texas Education Agency went up one level from Academically Acceptable to Recognized.
In November of 2005, Dr. Jones became published with his article, "Spanish Immersion and the Academic Success of Students in Alamo Heights" in the ACIE Newsletter (American Council on Immersion Education).
About being named to the NLSN Board, Cordell said "I look forward to representing principals nationwide as we look at sustaining a meaningful model of outstanding professional development for them. I'm thankful that we have an organization of dedicated individuals that recognizes that principals need to continue to grow, develop, build capacity, and network in order to meet the ever increasing demands of the profession."
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| Upcoming Events |
November 1-3 2008, Eastern NSLN Facilitators' Workshop, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
NSLN Facilitators Rachelle Salerno, Sandi Bisceglia and Mike Rafferty will bemaking a presentation about NSLN at the National Staff Development Council Conference in Washington, DC on December 8, 2008.
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| Contact Information |
| Elizabeth Neale, Executive Director
1100 East Washington Road
Hinsdale, Massachusetts 01235
413-441-4062 eneale@nslnetwork.org
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