3.7 An imperative for leadership preparation programs: preparing  (Page 4/12)

This integration of programs provides present and future school administrators with a better understanding of the interrelationships of schools and the community and gives them the added opportunity to develop networking relationships that can be utilized in future collaboration between schools and community agencies. Hugh Price (2008) suggests enlisting the support and involvement of local businesses, nonprofit agencies, community organizations, the media, and faith-based groups in such areas as financial assistance, celebration of student accomplishments, and providing educational opportunities and support for students that can result in improved student academic achievement and preparation for employment and the world beyond school.

Generally, preparation programs remain segmented in topical categories such as finance, leadership, law, and curriculum. Life does not proceed that way, nor does the day-to-day job of a school administrator. Administrators seldom have the luxury of segmenting their day and spending one hour strictly on legal issues and then the next on student issues, curriculum, or personnel concerns. All these topics are intertwined in the fast-paced administrative problem-solving and decision-making processes of the day. For university programs to relate more closely to actual administrative practice there should be an integration of topics across the curriculum and the incorporation of actual field experience assignments throughout the program, as opposed to only the use of case studies in the classroom setting, or when a student is assigned to an internship in a local school or district upon completion of required program coursework.

Performance standards and expectations: past and present

Standards provide a guide to organizations, programs, and individuals. Great emphasis has been placed on the development and maintenance of educational leadership standards which foster educational leadership policy development, performance expectations for practicing school administrators, standards for preparation programs, state educational leadership policy and standards, and tools for leadership assessment and evaluation (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008). Examples of professional organizations that have been instrumental in the development, review, and implementation of professional standards include the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Policy Board for Educational Administration, the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration, the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Council of Elementary School Principals, and state educational agencies. As stated by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration upon publication of the new Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC 2008,

Standards serve different purposes. The new standards are designed to serve as broad national policy standards that states use as a national model for developing their own standards. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELLC) Program Standards guide planning, implementing, and accrediting of administrator preparation programs (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2008).