Oregon will be one of two states represented at a high-powered leadership program at Harvard University next week, but the training, usually reserved for CEOs, has a new target: educators. Forty top officials from four school districts and the Oregon Department of Education will attend the weeklong seminar, funded in part by a grant from The Wallace Foundation, a private foundation that has funneled as much as $3 million in the past six years to sharpen the leadership skills of Oregon educators.
Leadership has become a buzz word in education in recent years as research suggests that student performance improves with strong direction from superintendents and principals.
"The typical view of the principal 20 years ago was the guy focused on the management of the building," said Rob Larson, director of the Oregon Leadership Network, which includes administrators from 11 districts. "What's happening now is, education is more complex and we need to look at how to move to the next level."
School officials from Portland, Beaverton, Salem and Eugene will join colleagues from Massachusetts attending the training program, which gives educators tools for working with teachers and parents. The Wallace Foundation and Harvard professors designed the program, which relies on private-sector expertise of professors from the Harvard Business School as well as the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
"The skills we demand of educational leaders today have not been taught to them historically at the education schools," said Lucas Held, director of communication at The Wallace Foundation. "Really, the focus has been administration. But leadership is critical if school improvement efforts actually are going to pay off for kids."
The Oregon delegation includes state Superintendent Susan Castillo, one Nike official, a representative from the Legislature and from the Oregon Employees Association.
Pat Burk, chief policy officer for the state Department of Education, said it's important that lawmakers and business officials understand education and leadership so they can influence policy on a statewide level.
"This is a huge opportunity for us," Burk said. "We want to include insiders and outsiders. We envision educational leadership to be broader than just superintendents. We want community members and others to be leaders in education."
(oregonlive.com)
