Urban Teen Summit: A Community and School Collaboration for Developing Student Leaders of Color

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and challenges that emerged from the first 3 years of a high school student leadership development program located in an urban setting. This study was developed as an instrumental case study of one student leadership development program serving urban public high schools in South Central Texas. Feedback was solicited from 10 current and former participants regarding the successes and challenges they encountered within this program. Three themes emerged from these interviews: personal voice, a sense of responsibility, and building community relationships. Discussion is included regarding considerations for secondary administrators about the potential utility of this model in helping develop student leaders of color in urban settings.

A case study of secondary school principals' perceptions of a teacher evaluation system in one northwest Missouri school district

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine principals' perceptions of the Missouri Educator Evaluation System (MEES) utilized in one northwest Missouri school district. Increasing public criticism over traditional teacher evaluation systems and federal mandates prompted school districts to re-design and implement new teacher evaluation models. This study gathered principals' perceptions of the impact of the MEES model. Information gathered was grouped into themes and sub-themes using three tools from the model, Professional Growth Plans, Walkthroughs, SLO's. Data collected through individual interviews, a focus group and document analysis informed the study. The population included thirteen secondary administrators, which had implemented the MEES model. An interpretive analysis of data was completed to make the following conclusions; principals perceived the walkthrough observations to have the most impact on classroom instruction, while the professional growth plans (PGP's) and student learning objectives (SLO's) had minimal effect on classroom instruction; likely due to incomplete and improper implementation. It is recommended the district continue to train principals on the MEES teacher evaluation system to increase the impact the MEES model has on classroom instruction.

Toward a Social Justice Model for an EdD Program in Higher Education

Evaluative in nature, this article includes an initial examination of a doctoral program uniquely designed to prepare higher education administrators and practitioners to be socially just and equity-minded leaders. The program emphasizes the integration of equity, social justice, and ethics into professional practice. As such, this article utilizes a social justice, leadership framework. Originally designed in 2006 by Colleen Capper, GeorgeTheoharis, and James Sebastian to prepare secondary administrators for social justice leadership, the framework assists with the enclosed evaluation of a program that prepares postsecondary administrators for social justice leadership. The article delineates the effectiveness of the program’s implementation and the extent to which the program’s goals, curriculum, and pedagogy align with components of the framework. The program has been chosen because of its commitment to addressing socio-economic and educational attainment disparities in higher education through the focused teaching and professional development of academic and student affairs personnel.

Addressing the needs of diverse distributed students

Two interrelated studies were undertaken to assist Alberta post-secondary institutions with meeting challenges associated with providing services to diverse distributed students that are of similar quality to services provided to traditional classroom students. The first study identified and assessed best practices in distributed learning; the second refined the focus to students who were identified as members of diverse sub-groups. Research activities for the studies included: a comprehensive literature review of best practice in distributed service delivery; an online survey for students enrolled in distributed learning through eight colleges and technical institutes; staff and student focus groups; and interviews with students, front-line staff, senior post-secondary administrators, and representatives from provincial government and community organizations. Findings highlight impressions and experiences in relation to best practice criteria for service delivery in distributed learning, along with “best practices behind the best practices” that facilitate the adoption and improvement of distributed service delivery.