OCPEA On The Move!
by
Carol Engler, Ashland University
Ted Zigler, University of Cincinnati
Scott Sweetland, Ohio State University
In April 2005, representatives from the 22 institutions that prepare school leaders in Ohio met to develop an organization to bring professors of educational leadership together for program improvement, collegiality, the sharing of ideas, and to have a collective voice for those institutions in matters of school leadership preparation. Later that summer, the Ohio Council of Professors of Educational Administration (OCPEA) became the first state start-up organization to become a state affiliate of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA).
The purpose of OCPEA was developed and categorized in three major areas: 1) the sharing of issues and human resources; 2) public policy; and 3) developing and utilizing partnerships and networks. The organization hopes to establish trust and collegiality among professors and institutions, in order to move the focus to program improvement for all institutions.
Educating School Leaders (2005) was a national study by Arthur Levine, then-president of Teachers College, Columbia University, that was highly critical of educational leadership programs around the country. In response, on September 27-28, 2005, the University of Dayton, Wright State University, the University of Cincinnati, and the Ohio Council of Professors of Educational Administration, with an initial grant from the Ohio Department of Education, joined forces to host a statewide conversation regarding the Levine report and how Ohio institutions might move forward with changes and improvements.
The final session of the “Levine Conference” was an opportunity to discuss the presentations and ideas brought forward, with a chance for conference attendees to offer ideas and suggestions for next steps for future policy and administrator preparation practice. The main ideas that surfaced were: 1) more discussion is needed among stakeholder groups in Ohio that deal with school leadership; 2) consider developing superintendent standards, to go with the new Ohio standards for principals, teachers, and professional development; 3) the principal internship needs to be developed and strengthened; 4) how to deal with the problem of recruitment and selection into leadership programs (should Ohio’s programs include the development of teacher-leaders as well as school leaders?); 5) Ohio needs clarification due to the current environment of multiple standards for principal preparation (new Ohio standards, ISLLC, ELLC, and where does NCATE fit in?); and 6) the difficult question of how do we evaluate the preparation programs?
In March 2006, OCPEA Board Members will meet with Marilyn Troyer of the Ohio Department of Education to discuss the new Ohio Standards and the subsequent roll-out of those standards.
Ashland University will host the first OCPEA Annual Conference on October 6, 2006, which will be patterned after the “Levine Conference”. The topics for the first OCPEA Conference are: 1) value-added assessment; 2) new principal, teacher, and professional development standards; 3) NCATE and/or TEAC; and 4) alternative licensure for principals and superintendents. The end of the conference will include a session for discussion and the development of ideas and “next steps” in order to move forward with program improvement.
The organization has made some quick moves to become an integral part of education in Ohio, and looks to the future to join other organizations for the good of our students, teachers, and principals in Ohio. OCPEA is on the move!
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