Curriculum Leadership Institute

THE CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE BASIC ASSUMPTIONS:
• Universities and schools should work together as partners in enacting a sophisticated form of curriculum problem-solving.
• Changes in classroom practices, which result in “enhanced” student learning, take time and can be facilitated through multi-faceted “transformative” curriculum leadership activities.
• Effective curriculum problem solving programs are ongoing and systematic; they bring together a highly collaborative team of teacher leaders, administrative leaders, and other curriculum stakeholder leaders to undertake the following tasks: reconceptualize current subject matter standards, practice a multi-modal reflective inquiry, engage in integrated designing, planning, teaching, evaluating and organizing decision-making, create a local professional learning community, and build a public intellectual network [James G. Henderson & Rosemary Gornik Transformative Curriculum Leadership (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2007.]
• Undertaking this complex “ecological” school reform requires a very high standard for personal and professional development.

PILOT PHASE ACTIVITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Participants in the pilot phase “Academic/Researcher” cohort will meet every other week in the Fall and Spring semesters from 7:20-10 PM to participate in scholarly, co-research and professional networking activities. This time commitment, which will involve discussion board activities in an on-line environment, can be counted as a formal doctoral seminar; however, participants who select this option will need to register and pay the tuition for a 3 semester hour graduate class (C&I 77095, Section 002). Action research activities will be integrated into this alternative week seminar.
• Participants in this pilot phase will need to purchase Transformative Curriculum Leadership (3rd ed.). This book will be central to all professional networking activities.
• Participants in this pilot phase will assist with the creation of an edited book, Becoming a Wise Educator: Fidelity in Professional Development. This book project will be central to all professional networking activities.
• Participants in this pilot phase will become actively involved in local, state, national, and/or international professional associations in order to network and share the vision and mission of the Curriculum Leadership Institute. All participants will be asked to identify sympathetic leaders and policymakers of one or more professional association(s), plan one or more presentations at association(s) meeting(s) and/or conference(s), prepare a paper for publication in an association journal (or other appropriate venue), and seek ways to impact association(s) policy statements.
• Assuming continuing Jennings Foundation support, the first Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) will take place in Summer, 2008 over a three-week period in an integrated on-site/on-line learning environment. Pilot participants will be asked to participate in this first CLI and/or recruit an appropriate colleague. The Summer, 2008 activities will extend into the 2008-2009 academic year. In effect, participants in the pilot phase are being asked to make an approximately two-year commitment (Fall, 2007-Summer, 2009).
• Participants will receive a $1,000 stipend upon completion of the expected activities.