Delaware Education News
November 2007
Copyright © 2007 Queue,
Inc.
IN
THIS ISSUE:
Report: SREB States Need to Make More Progress in
Improving School Leadership
Courtney Fox Named Delaware Teacher of The Year
For 2008
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Southern
Regional Education Board states are making progress in developing school
leadership systems to ensure that every public school has a principal who can
improve student performance — but states need to accelerate their efforts
in order to meet their own achievement goals, a new SREB report shows.
The
cutting-edge principal needed in todayÕs school "is not your fatherÕs
principal," asserts Schools Need Good Leaders Now: State Progress in
Creating a Learning-Centered School Leadership System. The SREB report calls for
a new generation of school leaders who put curriculum and instruction first. It
examines the progress of each SREB state in developing school leaders who look
beyond traditional administrative tasks and focus on improving schools and
student learning — the key to preparing students to succeed in the
competitive, 21st century global economy.
Although
all SREB states are making some progress in developing learning-centered
leadership systems, individual statesÕ rates of improvement and their areas of
focus vary greatly. Three states — Alabama, Louisiana and Maryland
— show particularly promising progress in several areas, which means they
have reached higher levels of progress than other states in several categories.
The
report identifies key steps that can help policy-makers in every state build
leadership development systems that produce more effective school principals.
Only
one state — Louisiana — improved its SREB school leadership rating
from 2002 to 2006 in all six major categories measured in the report. Alabama
improved in five categories, and four states improved in four categories:
Delaware, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia.
Three
states showed progress in half of the six categories: Florida, Oklahoma and
Tennessee. The remaining states showed less progress: Arkansas, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
None
of the 16 states across the region showed "substantial progress" in
any category — signaling the need for state leaders to place even more
importance on the need to improve school leadership and to take action.
SREBÕs
indicators of progress in developing a learning-centered school leadership
system include:
Learning-focused
leadership standards.
The standards should emphasize the principalÕs role in curriculum, instruction
and student achievement and should describe explicitly the practices of
effective principals and how to measure them. Many states currently rely on
national school leadership standards that do not emphasize instructional
leadership and school improvement adequately.
Recruitment. Universities and school
districts should work together to recruit and select the best candidates to
lead schools effectively. SREB recommends that states develop essential
criteria for recruiting and selecting principal candidates who have the
capacity to improve student learning. Universities need to be more selective
about admitting applicants to masterÕs degree programs designed for aspiring
school principals. Currently, most graduates of these programs do not become
principals.
The
overhaul of university-based, graduate-level principal preparation programs. These programs generally
need tremendous improvement to better develop aspiring principalsÕ abilities to
solve problems and lead school improvement, including effective ways to support
and assist teachers. States also need to work to improve field experiences and
mentoring for aspiring principals. Currently, many aspiring principals are
allowed to intern in the schools where they currently work, use current
supervisors as mentors and are not required to practice leadership of school
improvement strategies.
Tiered
licensing for principals. This licensing structure can ensure that both entry-level and
experienced principals continually demonstrate the abilities to improve
classroom practices and student learning. Currently, many statesÕ licenses for
principals are based solely on the completion of required — and often outdated
— training programs and have little to do with demonstrated excellence in
raising student achievement and school improvement.
Alternative
licensure.
Alternative paths to licensure also should be available so that high-performing
teachers — and other professionals with masterÕs degrees in fields other
than education administration — can access entry-level licensure and
job-embedded training in school leadership.
Professional
development.
Training and support should continually strengthen principalsÕ capacities to
improve curriculum and instruction and create a highly effective organization.
States should give special attention to building strong leadership teams,
including teachers, in low-performing schools.
SREB
has a long-standing commitment to strengthening leadership development. SREBÕs Challenge
to Lead
Goals for Education, approved by the regionÕs leaders in 2002, call for states
to ensure that all schools have effective leaders who can help improve student
achievement — and leadership begins with a high-quality school principal.
SREBÕs
Learning-Centered Leadership Program supports states in this effort through a
wide variety of activities, ranging from research and benchmark reports to
on-the-ground leadership training and technical assistance.
Read
the report at http://www.sreb.org/main/Goals/Publications/LearningCenteredSchoolLeadership.asp.
Courtney Fox, a first grade teacher at Mount Pleasant Elementary
School in Wilmington has been chosen as DelawareÕs Teacher of the Year for
2008. Her selection as DelawareÕs top educator makes her the forty-fourth
Teacher of the Year since DelawareÕs recognition program began in 1965.
DelawareÕs newest Teacher of the Year has ten years of teaching experience, all
in the Brandywine School District.
In 1998, Courtney received a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree
in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education from the University of
Delaware in Newark. Since that time, Courtney has engaged in Master-level
coursework from Fort Hayes State University in Kansas as well as Master-level
coursework in Gifted Education from the University of Delaware. She is also a
National Board Certified teacher in Early Childhood Education and has also
received Gifted and Talented Teaching Certification.
In 1998, Courtney received a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree
in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education from the University of
Delaware in Newark. Since that time, Courtney has engaged in Master-level
coursework from Fort Hayes State University in Kansas as well as Master-level
coursework in Gifted Education from the University of Delaware. She is
also a National Board Certified teacher in Early Childhood Education and has
also received Gifted and Talented Teaching Certification.
Following her graduation from the University of Delaware,
Courtney began teaching kindergarten at the Pierre S. DuPont Elementary School.
Just one year later, in 1999, she taught first grade at Mount Pleasant
Elementary where she has remained since. Also, in 2004, Courtney began working
with the Brandywine School DistrictÕs Gifted and Talented Program.
Fox has been extremely active in improving the quality of
education in Delaware. She has trained K-1 teachers in new assessment
procedures for statewide consistency; has served on the Brandywine School
District Language Arts Committee; consults and trains teachers nationally in
Responsive Classroom Approach; is a mentor with the National Board of
Professional Teaching Standards and is also a lead mentor for the Brandywine
School District.
The newly-selected Teacher of the Year has also received many
accolades and awards over her short career. She has received a Superstars in
Education Award presented by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce; an
Excellence in Education Award from MBNA; received a Character in Education:
Promising Practices Award; and is included in WhoÕs Who in Education.
When asked about her philosophy on teaching, Fox stated, ÒGood
teachers do what they do because they care. They care about everyone who enters
their school, they care about their studentsÕ families, they care about
teaching as a profession, they care about their colleagues, and they have a
deep passion for affecting everyone they meet in a positive way. Because they
care so much, they are grateful for the opportunity to impact others by being
part of a school.Ó Added Fox, ÒI believe good teachers look ahead and set yearly
goals for each child but recognize the importance of every day. As a teacher, I
leave every day excited about the next and am so glad that this is how I have
chosen to spend my life.Ó
The process of selecting DelawareÕs Teacher of the Year is very
demanding and is designed to find that teacher who is most representative of
the entire teaching profession. Through in-class observations, portfolio
reviews and consideration of finalists by a representative panel, the process
finds that one person who will become this yearÕs Teacher of the Year for
Delaware.
Fox now inherits an enormous task from outgoing Teacher of the
Year Caridad Alonso by representing all teachers in Delaware. She will address
community groups, business leaders, legislators, and educational organizations
in an effort to inform the public about the status of Delaware schools. She
will also become DelawareÕs entrant in the national program presented by ING
Foundation which is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers and
sponsored by Scholastic, Inc.
By action of the General Assembly, Fox will receive a $5000
grant to use for the educational benefit of her students, as well two personal
grants totaling an additional $5000. The remaining 18 school district
candidates will each receive a personal grant of $2000.
Fox will also receive an educational technology package valued
at approximately $17,000 from the SMARTer Kids Foundation. The package includes
a SMART Board(tm) interactive whiteboard, floor stand and software; an NEC VT465
portable projector from NEC Solutions America; creative- learning software from
Immersive Education; and a 32-pad Classroom Performance System from
eInstruction Corporation.
The new Teacher of the Year will also receive a Dell laptop
computer; a $1,000 grant for educational/classroom use from Harcourt
Assessment, Inc.; grants from the Delaware State Education Association, the
Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware Professional Standards
Board; a State of Delaware Teacher of the Year license plate from the Division
of Motor Vehicles; free graduate-level courses from DelawareÕs higher education
institutions; a gold watch from the Delaware State Teachers of the Year
Association and lunch in Washington D.C. with Senator Thomas R. Carper.