Do you grow your own leaders?

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In a world where many are nearing retirement, public education faces changes in leadership across our country.  How does a school system prepare and transition with new leaders?  Grow your own!  Many local school systems have implemented leadership academies.  These one- or two-year programs are structured for teacher leaders to work towards becoming administrators.  In addition to these educators earning their master’s and six-year specialist degrees, they benefit tremendously from learning “how we do things around here”…within their own system.  Then when an opening arises, the pool of applicants can include those from anywhere but also include graduates of the system’s leadership academy.  If indeed one of these individuals is hired for the leadership position, an institutional knowledge is already there.  If, too, a strategic plan is in place, the new leader simply continues with the implementation of that plan.  The result?  A seamless transition.  A continued focus on increasing student achievement.  Now, that’s good governance.

Helpful Resources:

One district who has their own internal leadership program is Gwinnett County Public Schools which has a program called Quality Plus Leader Academy.

Another of my favorites is Georgia School Superintendents’ Association’s (GSSA’s) SPDP (Superintendent Professional Development Program) where they accept 25 aspiring leaders for a two-year commitment and they meet for two days each month, learning about the various aspects of education leadership.

You also may want to check out the extensive offerings of the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI).

If your district has or uses a great leadership program, please share with us what makes it so successful!

Our contributor, Diane Sandifer

From local to state and national roles in public service, Diane Sandifer served on the Harris County Schools GA Board of Education from 1998-2008. Additionally, Diane was elected as president of the Georgia School Boards Association in 2006 and was a member of the National School Boards Association Board of Directors in 2007 and 2008. Diane advocates 21st century governance from the board room to the classroom through her passion for integration of technology as well as effective strategic planning. Diane represents school board members in statewide commissions and projects and has played an integral role in educational research through groups like the Wallace Foundation. Diane lives in Pine Mountain, Georgia and is currently the account executive for eBOARDsolutions.