3.4 Reality check: designing a new leadership program for the 21st  (Page 6/15)

Following this, an advisory council was formed and this group conducted focus group interviews within theirdistricts. All levels of input were acquired and critiqued by the advisory council to decide which to include in the plan. The draftof the new program and its rationale was presented by a team EDL faculty and district leaders, followed by small-group activitiesthrough which participants helped to incorporate standards into specific seminars and helped develop competency-based activities.(See Appendices A, B, and C for interview questions and additional responses.)

Southeastern Louisiana University professor David Stader (2003) constructed and field tested the Belief Matrixinstrument. It was designed to guide discussions of the importance of understanding beliefs in decision-making and in formulating ashared school vision throughout the program. Candidates completed surveys regarding their perceptions of self efficacy in schoolleadership by using the instrument in guiding the clarification and articulation of their beliefs. The results of the study revealedthat continued use of the instrument could be of benefit to the students and program. Continued research is being conducted on theBelief Matrix (Stader, 2003) effectiveness of field based skill development and impact on PK-12 student achievement.

The external critique of the plan for redesign of the school leader preparation program was administeredby consultants from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. They also met with universityand district school leaders and attended focus group presentations, and made two recommendations: One, begin the graduate studies withinstruction and field based work in leading teacher teams in how to review research data as a means of examining school context andselecting research based strategies for school improvement. Two, introduce the methods for facilitating a high performance learningculture and integrate these methods throughout the remaining seminars (Hill-Winstead&Stader, 2004). After 5 years of collaborative research and examination of best leadershippractices, the new school leadership preparation program was approved for implementation in fall 2005.

Master of Education Degree in School Leadership

Recruitment and Selection

The first step of the LEAD program was to recruit experienced teachers. District leaders were requested tonominate exemplary teachers with a minimum of 3 years of teaching experience whom they viewed as possessing leadership capabilitiesas future school administrators. These teachers were invited to apply for admission to the university and enroll in the firstseminar. During this semester, each candidate completes an application portfolio consisting of letters of recommendation,writing samples, artifacts with corresponding assessments from the first seminar, Graduate Record Exam Scores, transcripts, andteaching and leadership experiences. As part of our partnership with the Gallup Organization, each candidate also is assessed forleadership dispositions online called“Principal Insight.”The selection process culminates with a formal group and individualinterview scored according to a rubric and the Belief Matrix (Stader, 2003). The interviewers are a team of district anduniversity leaders who make the final selections after analyzing the participant profiles.