The Brown University News Bureau Distributed August 18, 1997
Contact: Tracie Sweeney
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
33 principals named to National School Reform Faculty Seminar
Thirty-three principals from around the country have been named to the National School Reform Faculty Principals Seminar at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Their schools are part of a network of nearly 200 schools participating in a unique program of professional development and whole school change.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Thirty-three principals from 13 states have been named to the National School Reform Faculty Principals Seminar at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. The group selected for this year's program joins 80 principals from across the United States who previously participated during the first two years of the program. Principals selected for the Principals Institute come from schools participating in the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), a network of nearly 200 schools across the country participating in a unique program of professional development and whole school change.
"Close cooperation between principals and teachers is a critical component of the leadership needed to change schools for the future," said Paula Evans, director of professional development for the Annenberg Institute and head of the NSRF project. "We're pleased to add these new members to an important voice for administrative collaboration in school reform."
Created in 1995, the NSRF program believes that school people, working together, can make lasting improvements in schools, and that teachers and administrators must work together and help each other to turn theories of change and reform into practice. The heart of the NSRF program is the Critical Friends Group, a local group of six to twelve teachers and administrators who commit themselves to two years of learning through collaborative work and evaluation. Their work involves looking at curriculum design and student achievement, extensive self and peer assessment, and changes in school culture and climate that are required in today's schools.
Participation in the Principals Seminar is limited to those administrators whose schools are current members of the NSRF program. Each participant submitted a detailed proposal, which was reviewed by a committee of teachers and principals from other NSRF sites and then recommended for participation. The participants attended one of two sessions held in Boston in July, and will participate at two additional seminars throughout the year. The first seminar focused on building goals for change and reform, studying the complexities of leadership in a changing school, and understanding the role of goals and standards for the principal in looking at student work.
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform, located at Brown University in Providence, R.I., is America's only independent institute dedicated exclusively to the long-term restructuring of American schooling. Created in 1993 with a $5-million anonymous gift, the Institute also received a $50-million gift from the Annenberg Challenge, Ambassador Walter Annenberg's $500-million challenge concentrating its efforts in three broad areas - redefining how and for what we hold schools accountable, building the capacity of schools and teachers to meet high standards and sustain whole school change, and engaging the public as participants in and advocates for school change.
Editors: For further information about the Institute, contact Jeffrey Kimpton (401-863-7975). For further information about this program, contact Sara Tortora (401-863-1294).
The new members are: