Experts mentor school administrators, officials on ‘balanced leadership’

Two experts from the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, or McREL, are on island for a two-day professional development training on “balanced leadership” for school leaders and officials.

Greg Cameron and Mel Sussman began their sessions yesterday at the jam-packed Marianas High School cafeteria, with about 50 educators in attendance, mostly school administrators and key staff of the Public School System as well as members of the Board of Education.

On its first day, participants received instruction on various topics focusing on developing a purposeful community and extending knowledge and refining practice.

Education Commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan said yesterday that PSS initiated the balanced leadership seminar over a year ago and continues to provide training not only to school leaders but to all stakeholders of Commonwealth education.

Despite the Commonwealth Cultural Day holiday yesterday, Sablan said that school leaders opted to go ahead with the training.

Sablan said the two-day seminar will also take up McREL’s research that examines the effects of leadership practices on student achievement.

McREL is a research organization best known for analyzing extant research. According to the organization’s website, after analyzing studies conducted over a 30-year period, McREL identified 21 leadership responsibilities that are significantly associated with student achievement. They have translated these results into a balanced leadership framework, which describes the knowledge, skills, strategies, and tools leaders need to positively impact student achievement.

“We’re here to continue to learn best practices and reflect on the balanced leadership that speaks of the 2011 responsibilities of leaders. This is actually a pre-conference to our statewide professional development. We’re bringing together administrators, board members, [and] key staff at central office to continue to learn for our students,” Sablan said during break in yesterday’s session.

PSS has about 30 school administrators on three islands, of which 19 are principals and the rest are vice principals.

Sablan disclosed that the McREL’s balanced leadership seminar “blends and rhymes” with the BOE’s effort in putting in place an evaluation system for all personnel.

She described as “the most critical factor” the capability and leadership skills of not only school administrators but the whole community because of the unified goal of achieving success for students.

“We’re here for a purpose and the bottom line is we’re all trying to improve everyone’s ability to oversee the school system so that student performance will be impacted in terms of academic achievement,” she said.

According to McREL, “effective leadership means more than simply knowing what to do-it’s knowing when, how, and why to do it. Effective leaders understand how to balance pushing for change, while, at the same time, protecting aspects of culture, values, and norms worth preserving.”