UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 36, Page 1
July 9, 1992
Bells ring for 43 prinicipals at national leadership academy

     Forty-three school principals from 24 states have been selected
to attend the first National Principals' Leadership Academy July 5-24
at the University of Delaware, and they were officially welcomed to
campus July 6 by Delaware Gov. Michael N. Castle, who was instrumental
in establishing the new academy, and University President David P.
Roselle.
     The academy, a model program for developing effective principals
as leaders of change in education, is a DELAWARE 2000 initiative,
sponsored by the University, the Education Commission of the States
(ECS) and the governors of the seven RE: Learning states. The project
received a $400,000 grant from the Education Fund for Innovation in
Education of the U.S. Department of Education.
     At a press conference to officially open the doors to the
academy, Gov. Castle said: "Of all the people in our school systems
who have the power to truly make a difference in how effectively
schools educate our children and prepare them for employment in the
future, school principals are those people. They are responsible for
making improvements and managing change, and it is vitally important
that we do everything we can to strengthen their leadership skills.
Today, we are doing just that in Delaware as we open the doors to the
nation's first National Principals' Leadership Academy.
     "This academy is an excellent example of the types of actions
being taken by individual states to improve education nationally,"
Castle said. "I congratulate the academy's 43 participants and thank
the University of Delaware and the Education Commission of the States
for their help in making this idea a reality."
     Roselle said "the role of a school principal is crucial in
bringing about meaningful change in education. The position of
principal is complex and demanding, as principals interact with
teachers, students, parents, the community, school boards and local
and state school administrators.
     "I am pleased that the University of Delaware, which has been
working so closely with individual teachers and schools to help
enhance the teaching and learning environment, now has an opportunity
to focus on the innovative leaders of our schools.
     "I believe strongly that if a principal is a good principal, then
you have a good school," Roselle said.
     At Delaware this month, the principals, who represent public,
private and parochial elementary and secondary schools from all over
the country, are learning leadership skills and sharing their own
experiences with each other.
     To be selected, principals had to demonstrate innovative
leadership in bringing about changes to improve education in their
schools.
     On the Newark campus, they are participating in a program of
lectures, panel discussions and hands-on problem solving.
     A combination of both theory and practical, how-to information,
the curriculum uses the case study approach, focusing on actual
problems principals have encountered and how they can be addressed.
     "We also will draw upon the expertise of those in other areas,
such as business, to learn how management strategies can be adapted to
schools, with programs from such organizations as the American Society
for Training and Development and the Center for Creative Leaders,"
academy director Eugene Smoley Jr. said.
     The principals will develop a plan of action for change, tailored
to their individual schools, and will form small, peer groups. During
the school year, the members of these groups will interact via
computer networks and through visits to each other's schools, serving
as mentors to one another, Smoley said.
     The final phase of the program will be a week-long meeting next
March, to assess progress and determine future strategies for
strengthening education in their schools.
     In addition to the academy's core faculty, a group of educational
leaders are serving as resource people and will be actively involved
in the academy, including Frank B. Murray, H. Rodney Sharp Professor
of Educational Studies and Psychology and dean of the College of
Education; Robert Hampel , associate professor of educational studies
at Delaware; Ted Sizer, founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools;
Frank Newman, president of the ECS; and Mark Tucker, president of the
Center for Education and the Economy.
     The academy is designed as a prototype that can be adapted for
use in other states for future programs, according to Smoley.
     Participating principals from Delaware are Mary Jane Bennett,
Wilmington High School; Sister Grace Marie Dunn, St. Peter's Cathedral
School; Joyce Harter, Hodgson Vocational-Technical High School;
Charles Hughes, Etta J. Wilson Elementary School; and Gerri Pinkett ,
Henry M. Brader Elementary School.
     Other states with representatives at the academy include Alabama,
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New
Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas,
Virginia, Washington and West Virginia..