Education Commons^™

In Defense Of Public Schools: A Toolkit From The Midwest, Ferial Pearson, Ann Hunter-Pirtle

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

One of the defining features of public schools is that they operate at the will of the people, with public oversight from elected school boards. In addition to being free and open to all, free from religious affiliation, and promoting civic understanding and participation, much of what makes public schools public happens through the democratic process. We have noticed that many teachers are so overworked and overwhelmed - rightly focused on their own classrooms and their own students’ day to day struggles - that it’s not easy for them to engage and advocate for themselves and their students in the …

Changing Times In School Law - Introduction, Jeanne L. Surface, David Stader, Anthony Armenta

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

As 2012 came to a close, the re-election of President Obama assures the continuation of state waivers to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the use of student growth modeling to make teacher and administrator employment decisions, and more accountability measures for PK-12 public schools and public and private institutions of higher education. The inexplicable school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, once again opened the political discussion about school safety. The reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA) looms on the horizon. The U.S. Supreme Court has once again ventured into the divisive affirmative …

Introduction To Rural Educational Leadership, Jeanne L. Surface

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Without going too deep into theoretical perspectives regarding social and organizational change (as with, say, Hegel’s dialectic), it can fairly be argued that change occurs when the center doesn’t hold, or said another way, when the status quo no longer serves most people. It is at that point that different ideas take root and begin to direct the process of change. And where do the different ideas come from? Wendell Berry (1987) argued that they come from the periphery, which in the context of the 21^st century, is the countryside.

Leadership Dispositions And Skills For Ethnically Diverse Schools, Jeanne L. Surface, Peter J. Smith, Kay Anne Keiser, Karen L. Hayes

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Quality educational leadership is especially critical today in the era of school improvement, student achievement, and teacher accountability. Leaders help meet ever-changing contexts and opportunities. Senge (1990) observed, “The new view of leadership in learning organizations centers on subtler and more important tasks. In learning organizations, leaders are designers, stewards, and teachers” (p. 340).

In addition to these new leadership challenges, this is a time when school resources—human as well as financial--are limited not only in PK-12 schools but to universities as well (Price, 2008). While American educators today are serving an increasingly diverse community, educators are still predominately middle-class, …

Adolescent Dating Violence: How Should Schools Respond?, Jeanne L. Surface, David Stader, Thomas Graca, Jerry Lowe

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Educational leaders have a substantial degree of control over students and generally have a tremendous influence on the decisions that they make. District administrators are already involved in comprehensive efforts to stem sexual harassment, teen violence and bullying; therefore, they may be well positioned to identify and address the problem of teen dating violence. Unfortunately, school district failure to take action is far too common, despite the statutory duty to ensure the safety of all students during school hours and at school sponsored events. School districts can be held liable for student dating violence under Title IX, under 42 U.S.C. …

To Be Or Not To Be...A School Leader: Motivators Of Educational Administration Candidates, Gerald Beach, Kay Anne Keiser

Educational Leadership Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Leading a school presents unique opportunities and obstacles to the individuals who may aspire to become a principal. The balance between incentives and disincentives to seek building leadership is currently shifting as the pool of qualified candidates willing to assume positions in school leadership is growing smaller (Browne-Ferrigno, 2003; Carr & Million, 2010; Sava, 1998). At the same time, record numbers of school administrators are now reaching retirement age; so many school districts are finding it increasingly difficult to fill vacancies (Howley, Andrianaivo, & Perry, 2005).

Strong leadership by the principal is a crucial ingredient in school improvement (Berry, 2009; …

Assessing Edad Candidate's Leadership Growth And Perceptions: Ethical Principles And Acting Fairly, Jeanne L. Surface

Educational Leadership Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Moral and ethical leadership has evolved over the years, and while early standards were often religious in nature, many standards remain. Every year principals are terminated for immoral activities, failure to assume leadership obligations, or breaches of ethics. Because of the critical role that principals play in school and community leadership, preparation programs should teach and assess principal candidates' dispositions such as fairness and integrity. This paper is an analysis of educational administration student growth using an electronic portfolio system to measure self-perceptions of readiness to implement the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards and self-perceptions of dispositions of …

Not All Threats Are Equal, Jeanne L. Surface

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

School leaders must be fully prepared to respond to all types of threats that occur. In order to respond to threats most appropriately the school needs to have a systematic approach that combines education, prevention, intervention, discipline, security and crisis preparedness measures. All threats must be assessed carefully and swiftly balancing the First Amendment rights of the student making the threat and the safety of the school. All threats are not equal but, all must be dealt with.

Conditions Affecting The Decision To Seek Or Not Seek A Position As A School Assistant Principal/Principal, Gerald M. Beach

Student Work

Education officials and policymakers across the United States have come to a staggering conclusion – the shortage of school administrators to lead the nation’s schools is real and is reaching crisis proportion (Quinn, 2002). Teacher shortages have been forecasted for many years, but recognition of a shortage of principals specifically, and school administrators in general, is a developing phenomenon (Coulter, Gates, Jugant, Pye, & Stanton, 2007).