LEAPS

The purpose of the Leadership and Excellence for Administrators in Pennsylvania Schools (LEAPS) is to strengthen the capacity of school administrators to become outstanding managers and to enable educational leaders to make better informed decisions that improve their schools' teaching and learning environments. The ultimate outcome is to improve student achievement in these administrators' schools. LEAPS is an outgrowth of the teams of administrators who attended the Governor's Academy for Urban Education.

For registration, specific activities and project successes visit the project website at http://www.pa-academy.org/gua/leap/leap.html

Goals

• Strengthen school administrators' knowledge and skills in research-based improvements and strategies to improve the quality of their mathematics and language arts teachers
• Enable administrators to implement research-based teaching practices; standards-based curricula; appropriate instructional materials, technology and other school improvements strategies to increase student interest and achievement in mathematics, reading, and writing
• Model best practice professional development opportunities for administrators to mirror for their teachers
• Grow the administrator strand of future Governor's Academies for Urban Education a) by increasing the number of teams which include school administrators and b) by offering sessions to develop outstanding educational managers and leaders
• Collect and disseminate information associated with knowledge and skills that are essential for school administrators to be outstanding managers and educational leaders

Projected Outcomes

Academic Standards

• Provide rigorous and challenging content
• Help students meet or exceed established grade-level benchmarks assessment
• Collect and analyze student data and achievement patterns for curriculum redesign
• Ensure that curriculum is standards-based, consistent and aligned within each grade and across all grade levels
• Ensure that instructional materials are consistent with curriculum and implemented by teachers
• Ensure that effective instructional and assessment strategies are integrated and employed by teachers

Professional Development

• Implement research-based changes as a result of professional development
• Demonstrate support for change from administrators by reallocating resources to support professional development, classroom and curricula changes
• Determine if subject content and lessons are standards-based, rigorous and rich
• Determine if appropriate methods and techniques are employed in classrooms
• Help teachers, students and other community members to feel safe and secure while in school
• Support teachers in a variety of ways to improve classroom environments
• Secure appropriate funding to implement educational changes

Partnerships

• Appropriate and effective support forums are created for administrators
• Administrators build functioning and effective partnerships with community members, service organizations, businesses, higher education institutions, and parents, to assist with school improvement efforts
• Administrators' and teachers' communications and relationships with parents are improved
• Administrators empower teachers to assume leadership roles

Partners

The Pennsylvania Academy for the Profession of Teaching and Learning is a co-sponsor of the Governor's Academy for Urban Education, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Implementation Strategies

A series of related professional development experiences are planned in collaboration with administrators who volunteer to facilitate each experience. Currently 44 administrators are involved in LEAPS. Themes for each experience are associated with one or more of the five core concepts and essential knowledge categories identified. In addition, administrators identify themes to ensure relevancy to their current school responsibilities and commitment to improvement efforts. Activities include: (1) Workshop sessions; (2) Focus groups; (3) Principal Mentoring Program; (4) Statewide Leadership Academy; (5) Networking opportunities with peers; (6) Development of school action plans; (7) Peer research teams and site visits.

Contact Information

Dr. James F. Bonner
State Coordinator
2986 North Second Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
(717)720-4237