Educational Leadership Commons^™

University Update - November 2018, Academic Affairs

University Updates & Communications from the University President

No abstract provided.

Playing Sports In College: Understanding The Factors That Influence The College Choice Process For High School Student-Athletes, Lauren Holzberg

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The college athletic recruiting process at times can be overwhelming, confusing, and intimidating. It is my hope that Playing Sports in College: Understanding the Factors that Influence the College Choice Process for High School Student-Athletes will alleviate some of the questions associated with the recruiting process and allow prospective student-athletes to pursue their college student-athlete dreams by offering simple advice, some basic ground rules, and plenty of inspiration.

This book is a go-to guide for the numerous questions that arise during the recruiting process and can be used when a student-athlete begins the recruiting process and it can be referred …

2018-11-15 Faculty Senate Newsletter, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes for November 15, 2018.

2018-11-15 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes for November 15, 2018.

Preparing School Leaders For Special Education: Old Criticisms And New Directions, David Dematthews, D. Brent Edwards, Jr.

School Leadership Review

In the context of accountability and high-stakes testing, professors of educational administration in Texas and across the nation are under tremendous pressure to develop innovative principal preparation programs that produce effective school leaders, especially as research methodologies emerge to disaggregate the effects of such programs. One area few programs adequately address, including more innovative programs, is special education - despite the fact that principals struggle with accountability for all students, but particularly those principals in schools and districts with limited resources and limited professional development opportunitie~ (Bays & Crocket, 2007; Wakeman, Browder, Flowers, & Ahlgrim-Delzell, 2006). Principals have long reported …

Insight For Teacher Preparation Program Administrators: Enhancing Pre-Service Educators' Lntercultural Sensitivity And Deep Proficiency In Culturally Responsive Teaching Through Short-Term Study Abroad, Gloria Gresham, Paula Griffin, Tracy Hasbun, Vikki Boatman

School Leadership Review

Teacher preparation program administrators face the issue of expanding curricula to prepare teacher candidates for the diverse population of students they will encounter {Trent, Kea, Oh, 2008). Globalization demands that teacher candidates grasp how to function in a more integrated and interdependent society (McGrew, 2005). According to Smith-Davis (2004) students from non-English speaking countries compose the fastest growing United States K-12 student population, and those identified as limited English proficient were over 10 million in 2004. The United States Census reported in the "New Census Bureau Report" the number of individuals five and older who speak languages other than English …

School Counselors' Perceptions About Lnterventions For At-Risk Students Including Grade Retention: Implications For School Leaders, Bret Range, Mary Alice Bruce, Suzanne Young

School Leadership Review

The term at-risk is used by educators and policymakers to describe a wide variety of students who struggle in schools (Kronholz, 2011). Factors associated with labeling students at-risk include minority status, poverty, language difficulties, low school attendance, and poor family support (Re~ Akpo-Sanni, Losike-Sedimo, 2012; Stockard, 2010). For many at-risk students, reading at a proficient level is a primary concern for school leaders and teachers (Allington, 2011; McAlenney & Coyne, 2011), especially with increased accountability including school sanctions for not closing reading achievement gaps (Chappell, Nunnery, Pribesh, & Hager, 2011). Although a plethora of interventions have been proposed to assist …

A View From The Field: How Nclb's Good Intentions Of Accountability Damage Our Educational Leaders And Our Schools, Vance Vaughn

School Leadership Review

School districts and campuses throughout the nation are working around the clock to avoid an unacceptable accountability rating under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. In Texas the label has recently changed to "Improvement Required." An "Improvement Required" label forces districts and campuses into the Texas Accountability Intervention System (TAIS), a system implemented by Texas to satisfy the NCLB federal requirements, and to engage struggling districts and schools toward academic school improvement. The NCLB Act has good intentions; however, it might be creating a crisis in education. It is important to remember that NCLB, "the 2002 reauthorization …

Accountability And Students' Needs, Pauline M. Sampson, Kerry L. Roberts

School Leadership Review

Our schools are working under many pressures often with increased expectations and less resources. These increased expectations hold administrators and teachers to high accountability standards while working with increased diverse populations of students.

Impacts On Teacher Evaluations: The Importance Of Building Capacity Through Excellence In The Application Of The Teacher Evaluation Process, Susan J. Nix, Gary Bigham

School Leadership Review

Significant student learning and school improvement are dependent upon the teacher being the centerpiece (Tucker, Stronge, Gareis, & Beers, 2003; National Council of Teacher Quality, 2011). In maintaining the high standards associated with teaching responsibilities, educators are held accountable through performance evaluations. In the United States, teacher evaluations have long been a standard of practice largely determined by individual states and school districts. Additionally, teacher effectiveness has been guided by at least three pieces of national legislation, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, 1965), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment …

Factors Affecting Doctoral Educational Leadership Program Selection, Lesley F. Leach, Pam Winn, Susan Erwin, Liza Benedict

School Leadership Review

Although recruitment has always been vital to sustained university admissions, it is true perhaps now more than ever as traditional public university programs face fierce competition for students from digitally-delivered and for-profit programs. Competition is fierce at every level of higher education, including the doctoral level. As competition has increased, so have the number of universities offering doctoral degrees (U.S. Department of Education [DOE], 2013). In 2011, Texas ranked fourth behind California, Florida, and North Carolina in the number of doctoral degrees granted in the United States. Furthennore, the number of doctoral degrees conferred in Texas grew from 8,959 in …

Superintendents And Professional Development: Voices From The Field, Juan M. Nino, Mike Boone, Israel Aguilar, Dessynie Edwards

School Leadership Review

The primary task of the educational leader is to assure high quality learning environments for all students. Research (Gordon, 2004; Sparks, 2007) supports the proposition that effective professional development contributes to instructional improvement by building educator capacity. Much of the research on professional development focuses in principal leadership in improving instruction (Blase & Blase, 2004). But district level administrators, especially the superintendent of schools, also have a role to play in school improvement. Standards for the preparation of school leaders specify competencies for superintendents that include the design and implementation of professional development programs based on sound research, best practices, …

Teacher Contract Non-Renewal In The Rocky Mountains, Andy Nixon, Abbot Packard, Margaret Dam

School Leadership Review

Success for students in the 21st century increasingly relies on competencies and proficiencies typically available on]y through formal educational processes. Researchers have noted the paramount importance of quality teaching as the important criterion for student success (Haycock, 1998; Marzano, 2003). Recent reforms have increased the expectation that school principals energetically address teacher evaluations and subsequently remove ineffective teachers. These recent reforms tend to have common priorities, including emphasizing high quality teaching, evaluating teachers for merit pay purposes, and linking evaluation to student performance with an emphasis on the removal of ineffective teachers from the classroom.

Superintendent And School Board Relations: Impacting Achievement Through Collaborative Understanding Of Roles And Responsibilities, Greg Weiss, Nate Templeton, Ray Thompson, Joshua W. Tremont

School Leadership Review

One of the most important and influential persons in the governance structure of the local school district is the Superintendent of Schools. Functioning as the CEO of the district, the superintendent is responsible for a myriad of functions. Examples include daily operations inclusive of transportation and finance, curriculum and policy implementation, media relations, and empowering leaders. However, as Meador (2014) contends, a crucial role is that of board liaison. The Superintendent is responsible for keeping the board informed, making recommendations regarding district operations, and setting the board agenda. It is interesting to note that the superintendent does participate in board …

A Legacy Of Collaborative School Leadership: Ima Hogg And The Houston School Board, 1943-1949, Linda Black

School Leadership Review

School boards are very powerful entities whose decisions have a significant impact on millions of students in the United States. Since the formation of the first local school boards in Massachusetts in the late 1700s, these groups of local officials have directed public education in their communities (Land, 2000). Throughout the nineteenth century, unpaid members of school boards managed both the daily operations of local schools districts and created policy. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, the increasing school population meant increased responsibilities for school board members as they oversaw increasingly larger and more complex institutions. The …

School Boards, Superintendents, And Students: Making Large Impacts, Pauline M. Sampson, Kerry L. Roberts

School Leadership Review

As we look to the many stakeholders in education and a variety of roles, this edition takes a look at school boards, superintendents, teachers' evaluations as a major role of administrators. Additionally, one article showcases the factors that affect students' decisions in an educational leadership doctoral program as they access a terminal degree in our field.

Race, Disability And The Possibilities Of Radical Agency: Toward A Political Philosophy Of Decolonial Critical Hermeneutics In Latinx Discrit, Alexis C. Padilla

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The present dissertation is a non-empirical methodology project grounded in political philosophy. As a practical exercise, it bridges knowledge workers (e.g., educators, action researchers and other engaged scholars) with activists to explore the situated emancipation possibilities of radical agency at the intersection of blindness and Latinidad. It does so in line with DisCrit and other bodies of literature within critical disability studies, works centered on trans-Latinidades and border-crossing, intersectional decoloniality theorizing, critical hermeneutics, critical race theory and blackness/ whiteness studies. It interrogates performative and movement building spaces for teaching and learning that foster radical exteriority trajectories of decolonial solidarity and …

Family Involvement Strategies Of Asian Students With High Achievement In Middle School Mathematics: A Phenomenological Study, Kenneth N. Anisiobi

School Leadership Review

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that schools maintain policies, strategies, and practices that support parental involvement in the education of all children (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2002). Houtenville and Conway (2008) found that by implementing strategies which promote family engagement in the educational process, schools can save up to one thousand dollars per child in education expenses per year.

Principal Perceptions Of Walkthrough Effectiveness, Teresa Martin Starrett

School Leadership Review

Teacher quality is the most important school level factor affecting student achievement. There is a direct correlation between effective instruction provided by highly qualified teachers and increased student achievement (Colvin & Johnson, 2007).

Professional Development For Educational Leaders In The Era Of Performance Evaluation Reform, Kelly H. Summers, Todd D. Reeves, David A. Walker, J. Schwartz

School Leadership Review

The word “accountability” has become a mantra in public education. Arguably, this one word, and the movement it has produced, has shaped the direction of our field in the past decade more than any other (Harris, 2011). This movement has led to many positive changes including an examination of gaps in student achievement, the types of assessments used in schools, and the strength of the performance evaluation systems for principals and teachers. Many large urban school districts, as well as entire states, have revamped the way public school principals and teachers are evaluated. In fact many, including the State of …

Pursuing The Principalship: Factors In Assistant Principals’ Decisions, Amy Ellis, Casey Graham Brown

School Leadership Review

School administrators who are hired to lead and guide schools and districts must possess a number of characteristics that allow them to become successful leaders. The presence or absence of a strong educational leader can make all the difference in school climate and student achievement (Kelley, Thornton, & Daugherty, 2005). Educational leaders need to be cognizant of what constitutes an effective leader and which characteristics have the most effective impact on student achievement. Alford et al. (2011) stated, "while principals are engaged in the managerial tasks of the school, securing the building for safety, ensuring bus routes, student schedules, and …

Considering An Overhaul To The New Principal Preparation Program, Vance Vaughn, Yanira Oliveras-Ortiz

School Leadership Review

Levine (2005) argued that university principal preparation programs for educational leaders are failing to provide a suitable curriculum to prepare aspiring principals to demonstrate the skills and competencies necessary to meet the challenges inherent in the increasingly complex demands of their school leadership roles. Teitel (2006) suggested that colleges and universities offer curricula that are neither coherent nor relevant. According to Candidates, Doctoral Cohort; Coleman, J. Craig; and Alford, Betty J. (2007), it is “a grave disservice [that] is done to university program graduates who enter leadership positions woefully unprepared for the awaiting firestorm” (p. 39).

Advancements For Principals, Pauline M. Sampson, Kerry L. Roberts

School Leadership Review

This edition has some clear presentations for the important principal role and how universities impact the new principals. Additionally, there is a paper on the assistant principals and their movement to the principal position. Our TCPEA Outstanding Graduate Research Exchange paper showcases middle school mathematics achievement for Asian students and parent involvement.

Five Critical Skills Necessary For The Interim Superintendent In Texas, Susan J. Nix, Gary Bigham

School Leadership Review

"Schools are highly complex places" (Goodall, 2013, p.121) and school district-level leadership is integral to student success (Bigham & Nix, 2011; Fertig, M., 2012; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2000; Norton, Webb, Dlugosh, & Sybouts, 1996; Robinson, Lloyd & Rowe, 2008; Wallace, 2002; ). Unfortunately, the mean tenure for superintendents is short - five to six years nationwide (Kowalski, McCord, Peterson, Young, & Ellerson, 2011) and three years in Texas (Bigham, 2011 ). Frequent leadership changes have the potential to disrupt the continuity of education for students in the school district. As these high level administrators move to other positions or retire, …

A Phenomenological Narrative Study: Elementary Charter Principals' Role As An Instructional Leader, Ahmet F. Cetinkaya

School Leadership Review

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) (2013) defined charter schools on the company website as "independent public schools allowed freedom to be more innovative, while being held accountable for improved student achievement" (p. l ). Although there might be differences in their structures depending on state charter school laws and agreement between their authorizers, charter schools have been shown to have more flexibility in their educational programs and management styles in comparison with traditional public schools.

Measuring Up: Teachers' Perceptions Of A New Evaluation System, Darnisha Rigsby, Jennifer T. Butcher

School Leadership Review

Teacher appraisal and evaluation systems have increased the level of teacher accountability, resulting in increased pressure to be successful in the classroom (Benedict, Thomas, Kimerling, & Leko, 2013; Derrington, 2011; Glazerman et al., 2011; Papay, 2012). As a result, several states have begun to stray from the traditional methods of evaluating teachers, thus creating their own appraisal systems in an effort to increase teacher quality and teacher accountability of student performance and success (Anderson, 2012). This approach to transform traditional teacher evaluation methods has attracted both teachers and administrators alike (Derrington, 2011).

The Augmentation Of Bilingual/Bicultural Courses In Educational Administration Core Requirements, Ava J. Munoz

School Leadership Review

"Cultural competence should be a fundamental aspect of school principals' preparation and practice" (Hernandez & Kose, 2012, p. 513). However, educational leadership programs have been remiss, and somewhat lackadaisical, in exploring and including bilingual/bicultural curricular content in their principal leadership programs (Hernandez & Kose, 2012). Presently, few or minute advances in increasing bilingual/bicultural knowledge in the curricular content of educational leadership course requirements is the norm. Moreover, "when these topics are introduced, they are often special topics courses or seminars that are not part of the core curriculum of leadership preparation" (L6pez, 2003, p. 70).

The Impact Of High Stakes Testing On School Leadership, Yanira Oliveras-Ortiz

School Leadership Review

As I observed and recorded a classroom teacher at the beginning of the spring semester, I remembered how much I enjoyed working with teachers to help them grow and become master teachers. While reflecting on this master teacher's lesson, I pondered how drastically things have changed since I became a school administrator in 2001. I was amazed when the advanced academics teacher mentioned the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) need a source for ST AAR on a number of occasions throughout her lesson. The intent of her comments was to bring awareness to these young learners about …

The Changing Landscape Of Leadership, Pauline M. Sampson, Scott Bailey, Kerry L. Roberts

School Leadership Review

Leading a campus is not what it used to be (nor is teaching a class, being a student, or raising a child for that matter). The increasing pace of societal and technological change provides an ever-evolving backdrop against which educational leaders view and conduct their work. Overlay a culture of accountability enacted amid budget cuts, surging enrollments, and shifting demographics, and the roles of school leaders become clouded with uncertainty, imbued with responsibility, and demanding increased personal commitment and professional and technical knowledge. One principal preparation student recently commented that her teaching colleagues routinely asked her, "Why in the world …

The Effectiveness Of An Online Credit Recovery Program On Improving The Graduation Rates Of Students At Risk Of School Failure, Carrie Eddy, Julia Ballenger

School Leadership Review

Students are dropping out of high school at alarming rates. Reports suggest that between 6,300 and 7,000 high school students drop out daily (Dessoff, 2009; Stanley & Plucker, 2008), and more than 1.3 million students drop out each year (Long-Coleman, 2009; Zehr, 2010). In the United States, nearly one in five individuals has not earned a high school diploma or General Equivalency Degree (GED) (Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2004). Every member of society feels the impact of high school dropouts, given the enormous economic and social costs (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2009). For example, over the course …