THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
COMMITTEE:	Higher Education and Professional Practice
TITLE OF ITEM:	Educational Leadership Initiative – Update
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	January 3, 2005
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	To Implement Policy
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goal 3
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

          The traditional roles and responsibilities of school and district level administrative and supervisory leaders have evolved over the last several years given the increased focus on instruction, standards and accountability. Educational leaders play a critical role in managing a more complex and diverse environment where all students are expected to learn and where high learning standards set the vision of educational success for all students. In response to this need and challenge, the Board of Regents and Department sponsored a series of forums and regional conferences involving over 3,000 leaders in education, the private sector and community organizations, in the late 1990’s, around the state to discuss school leadership. Following those forums, the Board of Regents and the Commissioner commissioned a Blue Ribbon Panel in 1998 to review school leadership in New York and throughout the nation.  In October 2001, the Panel offered three major recommendations:

 

• Create an environment where leaders succeed in improving student achievement;
• Expand the scope and incentives for recruiting, developing and retaining effective school leaders; and
• Provide quality preparation for school leaders.

 

The purpose of this item is to provide an update on the significant progress achieved to date on the implementation of the Regents leadership policy related to higher education preparation and the next steps underway.

 

 

Developing Effective School Leaders in New York State

 

 

School leaders need extraordinary skills to provide effective leadership in our diverse school environments. After extensive discussion with field leaders, the Blue Ribbon Panel on School Leadership crafted a definition of the knowledge and skills required of school leaders that form the foundation of New York’s leadership development effort.  Those nine essential knowledge and skills are:

 

1. Leaders know and understand what it means and what it takes to be a leader.

Leadership is the act of identifying important goals and then motivating and enabling others to devote themselves and all necessary resources to achievement. It includes summoning one’s self and others to learn and adapt to the new situation represented by the goal.

 

2. Leaders have a vision for schools that they constantly share and promote.

Leaders have a vision of the ideal, can articulate this vision to any audience, and work diligently to make it a reality. Leaders also know how to build upon and sustain a vision that preceded them.

 

3. Leaders communicate clearly and effectively.

Leaders possess effective writing and presentation skills. They express themselves clearly, and are confident and capable of responding to the hard questions in a public forum. They are also direct and precise questioners, always seeking understanding.

 

4. Leaders collaborate and cooperate with others.

Leaders communicate high expectations and provide accurate information to foster understanding and to maintain trust and confidence.  Leaders reach out to others for support and assistance, build partnerships, secure resources, and share credit for success and accomplishments.  School leaders manage change through effective relationships with school boards.

 

5. Leaders persevere and take the “long view.”

Leaders build institutions that endure. They “stay the course,” maintain focus, anticipate and work to overcome resistance. They create capacity within the organization to achieve and sustain its vision.

 

6. Leaders support, develop and nurture staff.

Leaders set a standard for ethical behavior. They seek diverse perspectives and alternative points-of view. They encourage initiative, innovation, collaboration, and a strong work ethic. Leaders expect and provide opportunities for staff to engage in continuous personal and professional growth.  They recognize individual talents and assign responsibility and authority for specific tasks. Leaders celebrate accomplishments.  They identify recruit, mentor, and promote potential leaders.

 

7. Leaders hold themselves and others responsible and accountable.

Leaders embrace and adhere to comprehensive planning that improves the organization. They use data to determine the present state of the organization, identify root cause problems, propose solutions, and validate accomplishments.  Leaders respect responsibility and accountability and manage resources effectively and efficiently.  They require staff to establish and meet clear indicators of success. Leaders in education also know and understand good pedagogy and effective classroom practices and support sustained professional development.  They recognize the importance of learning standards and significance of assessments.

 

8. Leaders never stop learning and honing their skills.

Leaders are introspective and reflective. Leaders ask questions and seek answers. Leaders in education are familiar with current research and best practice, not only in education, but also in other related fields.  They maintain a personal plan for self-improvement and continuous learning, and balance their professional and personal lives, making time for other interests.

 

9. Leaders have the courage to take informed risks.

Leaders embrace informed, planned change and recognize that everyone may not support change.  Leaders work to win support and are willing to take action in support of their vision even in the face of opposition.

 

The Regents asked Department staff to develop draft regulatory language to incorporate the essential knowledge and skills for effective school leadership into the educational preparation and certification standards for future administrative and supervisory school leaders.  Department staff worked extensively with all sectors of the education community on preliminary draft language for a new regulation on the preparation of educational leaders which was released in December of 2002. 

 

During January and February of 2003, the Regents and Department staff held a series of “public forums” around the State to facilitate open discussion and comment on the preliminary draft leadership regulation. Hundreds of educators from both the elementary and secondary and higher education sectors attended these forums. The Regents Higher Education and Professional Practices Committee carefully considered the extensive public comments and recommendations received at the public forums and revised the preliminary draft regulatory language on the standards for the preparation of educational leaders by colleges and universities at its meetings in March and April 2003.  After significant additional consideration and communication with the education community, in July 2003, the Board of Regents adopted new standards in Part 52 of the Commissioner’s Regulations for the education and training of educational leaders. These new standards included a number of important improvements to the way leaders were previously prepared:

 

·       the explicit incorporation of the nine essential knowledge and skills for effective school leadership into the required standards for all college and university programs approved by the Department for the preparation of certified school district leaders, school building leaders and school district business leaders;

 

·       a requirement that all future candidates for educational leadership positions be required to take and pass new certification assessments designed to verify their acquisition of the nine essential knowledge and skills for effective school leadership; and

 

·       a professional development requirement for holders of educational leadership certificates.

 

From July 2003 until the present, Education Department staff in the Office of Higher Education have worked extensively with colleges and universities around the State interested in offering these new leadership programs.   The Department has registered 116 educational leadership programs consistent with the new standards. 

 

 

Number of Educational Leadership Programs

in Colleges and Universities Statewide

 

 

 

The Department has been working closely with the National Evaluation Systems (NES), our contract partner for the administration of New York’s teacher certification examinations, to develop the new certification examination that will be required for the certification of educational leaders. The Department and NES identified and contacted recognized educational leaders from around the State to invite them to participate on three new Assessment Advisory Committees to help create the new educational leadership examinations.  These Assessment Advisory Committees met in May 2004 to discuss the frameworks for the new educational leadership certification examinations for school district leaders (superintendents), school building leaders (principals) and school district business leaders. 

 

During the fall of 2004, NES did extensive field surveys with administrative and supervisory educational leaders at the school district level as well as deans and professors at colleges and universities involved in the preparation of educational leaders to verify the necessary job skills required for effective educational leaders.  Over the course of 2005, these Assessment Advisory Committees are scheduled to work with the Department and NES to develop the specific questions for the new educational leadership certificate examinations.  NES plans to field-test these new examinations in the winter and spring 2006.  The first actual administrations of the new educational leadership exams would be scheduled for the summer of 2006.

 

In the coming months, the Board of Regents will be reviewing the next set of regulations that set out the specific requirements for the certification of administrative and supervisory educational leaders.   Department staff will be working with the Professional Standards and Practices Board for Teaching (PSPB), and all sectors of the education community throughout the winter of 2005 to develop language for the new Part 80 regulation which will establish certification standards for educational leaders consistent with the Part 52 standards previously approved by the Regents for the training of educational leaders by institutions of higher education.

 

          We are scheduled to bring a preliminary draft version of the new certification requirements for educational leaders to the Regents’ Higher Education and Professional Practices Committee for discussion in the spring of 2005, and approval in the fall of 2005, after providing multiple opportunities for the Board of Regents and the field to discuss and revise the draft regulation.  

         

A timeline, summarizing the information discussed in this update about the accomplishments to date and the remaining steps over the next 18 months to complete the implementation of the Regents educational leadership initiative, is attached.

 

 

 

 

 

Attachment

Implementation of Regents Initiative for the Preparation of School Leaders

 

Chronology of Actions and Next Steps

 

• Late 1990’s – statewide forums on school leadership in New York State and the Nation

 

• 1998 – the Board of Regents and the Commissioner appoint Blue Ribbon Panel on School Leadership

 

• 10/01 - Blue Ribbon Panel on School Leadership defines the nine  “Essential Knowledge and Skills For Effective School Leadership”

 

• 11/01-11/02 – Department staff develop preliminary draft regulations for the preparation of educational leaders based upon the nine  “Essential Knowledge and Skills For Effective School Leadership”  (Part 52 regulations)

 

• 12/02 – Regents discuss the preliminary draft regulations for the preparation of education leaders

 

• 1/03 – Regents and Department staff hold public forums around the State to solicit public comment on the preliminary draft leadership regulation

 

• 3/03-4/03 – Regents Higher Education/Professional Practice Committee discuss revised preliminary draft regulations

 

• 7/03 – Regents adopt regulations on the training of educational leaders by institutions of higher education (Part 52 regulations)

 

• 11/03-3/04 – Department and National Evaluation Systems (NES) establish 3 Assessment Advisory Committees (School District Leaders, School Building Leaders and School District Business Leaders) composed of education leaders from all regions of NYS

 

• 5/04 – first meeting of the Assessment Advisory Committees at which education leaders from around NYS discuss critical issues and frameworks for the proposed new leadership certification examinations

 

• 9/1/04 - institutions of higher education with registered educational leadership programs begin implementation of new Part 53 regulations

 

• 9/04-12/04 – NES conducts survey of practicing educational leaders from all regions of NYS

 

• 10/04-2/05 – preliminary draft Leadership Certification regulations developed (Part 80 regulations)

 

• 2/05 – Assessment Advisory Committee discussion of issues relating to the development of the educational leadership examinations

 

• 3/05 – first Professional Standards and Practices Board (PSPB) discussion of preliminary draft Leadership Certification regulations

 

• 5/05 – first Regents discussion of preliminary draft Leadership Certification regulations

 

• 6/05 – second PSPB discussion of draft Leadership Certification regulations

 

• 5/05-1/06 – NES and Advisory Committees develop Assessments for School District Leaders, School Building Leaders and School District Business Leaders

 

• 6/05-9/05 – Regents discuss/revise draft Leadership Certification regulations

 

• 9/05 – Regents consider for approval new Leadership Certification regulations (Part 80 regulations)

 

• 9/05-9/06 – Department conveys information on the new Leadership Certification regulations to the field

 

• 1/06-3/06 – NES pilot tests the three new Leadership Assessments/Certification Examinations

 

• Spring-Summer 2006 – first administration of three new Leadership Assessments/Certification Examinations

 

• 9/06 – SED/NES establish and validate passing scores for three new Leadership Assessments/Certification Examinations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(12/04)