How Are Colleges and Universities Preparing Reading Specialist Candidates for Leadership Positions in the Schools?

This article reports on the results of 11 interviews conducted as a follow-up to a survey that examined the perceptions of university faculty regarding the importance of graduate programs preparing reading specialists for leadership roles. The results of the interviews indicate that programs require a leadership course that has reading specialist candidates actually working with classroom teachers in a school setting. These programs also require that reading specialist candidates provide professional development and develop skills in communication and collaboration. We suggest that the surveyed programs provide a model of what could be offered in master’s degree/certification programs for reading specialists

School-Based Leadership Perspectives on University Partnerships

The success of school-university partnerships depends on the leadership. This qualitative study reports on school-based leaders (SBAs) as critical stakeholders in the collaborative process of forming viable partnerships with colleges and universities. It describes SBAs’ responsibilities as partners, motivation for forming their partnerships, perceived benefits and challenges of the partnership, perspectives on forming and sustaining a partnership, and self-reflective comments about their leadership characteristics as an SBA and a partner. Sixteen SBAs, most of whom were school principals, responded to 12 interview questions. SBAs indicated that they have been engaged with Professional Development Schools (PDSs) an average of 10 years. They pursued their partnerships with colleges and universities to help their students, teachers, and schools. Even with the additional responsibilities and any challenges encountered, SBAs found that PDSs provided additional resources and support, collaboration, and opportunities to impact future teachers. SBAs believed that they had the necessary leadership qualities for developing PDSs as vehicles for promoting the profession. They saw themselves as collaborative, visionary, dedicated, organized, striving for excellence, motivational, and supportive. Ideas are presented for creating a leadership profile of SBAs involved in PDSs to establish guidelines for their optimum roles and responsibilities in partnership work

Transforming Schools: The Power of Teachers’ Input in Professional Development

Recent legislative actions have mandated the professional development of teachers in hopes of improved student achievement. However, research has shown that mandated professional development most usually does not lead to a positive outcome. This article describes three aspects that have been identified as contributing to the transformation of instruction in schools: school context, role of the administrator, and cohesion between professional development and needs of students/teachers. Mezirow’s adult learning theory supports these important aspects of school reform and has implications for planning and developing educators’ professional development

Sycamore Readers: A Successful Model to Improve Student Learning

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