The University of North Carolina Center for School Leadership Development

On January 10, 1997, the Board of Governors approved a proposal establishing the University of North Carolina Center for School Leadership Development, which will be responsible for the ongoing professional development of school administrators, teachers, school board members and others.

Board of Trustees

Membership

The governing board of the Center shall be called the "Board of Trustees of the UNC Center for School Leadership Development" and shall be responsible to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. The membership of the Board of Trustees of the Center shall include persons who have demonstrated a commitment to school improvement in North Carolina and shall be constituted as follows:

Chair, to be appointed by the Board of Governors

Member of the Board of Governors

Member of the State Board of Education

Superintendent of Public Instruction (or a designee)

1 dean of a School of Education of a UNC institution that offers an initial preparation program for school administrators

1 professor of educational administration

1 representative of independent colleges and universities

1 superintendent

1 school principal

1 teacher

5 at-large members.

The chair of the Board of Trustees, the members of the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction (or a designee) shall serve as ex officio voting members. The remaining appointments shall be the responsibility of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina in collaboration with the North Carolina State Board of Education.

Initial appointments shall be for one, two, and three year terms. Succeeding terms shall be for three years each. No appointed members may serve more than two consecutive three-year terms. Appointments to the board shall be representative of the geographic, race and gender, and urban and rural make-up of the State.

The membership shall not exceed fifteen (15) members. The Board of Trustees shall appoint committees/sub-committees as necessary to complete tasks. These committees shall be chaired by a member of the Center's board.

Responsibilities

The initial responsibility of the Board of Trustees will be to:

1. Develop a long range plan for coordinated professional development in consultation with the Professional Development Advisory Council;

2. Submit a Professional Development Plan for approval to the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education; and

3. Share the plan with the Governor, General Assembly, and the public.

Executive Director

An executive director of the UNC Center for School Leadership Development will be appointed by the President of the University subject to approval by the Board of Governors. The executive director will report directly to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (for public school liaison) at the University of North Carolina General Administration. The executive director will exercise direct responsibility on behalf of the President and the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina for the following programs:

1. An Executive Leadership Academy whose target audience will be superintendents, assistant/associate superintendents, central office personnel, and school boards;

2. The Principals' Executive Program whose target audience will be principals and assistant/associate principals;

3. The Principal Fellows Program whose target audience will be recipients of the Principal Fellows Scholarship-Loans;

4. The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching;

5. The North Carolina Center for the Prevention of School Violence;

6. The North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network; and,

7. The North Carolina Teacher Academy.

The executive director will also chair a Professional Development Advisory Council. In order to ensure coordination between the Center, initial preparation programs, and other public school outreach initiatives of the University of North Carolina, the Board of Trustees of the Center shall initiate a Professional Development Advisory Council. The Advisory Council will include the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (for public school liaison) of UNC General Administration; a representative of the deans’ Council on Teacher Education; and the directors of the Executive Leadership Academy, North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, North Carolina Center for the Prevention of School Violence, North Carolina Mathematics and Science Education Network, North Carolina Teacher Academy, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Principals' Executive Program, and Principal Fellows Program. The directors of the Standards Board for Public School Administration and the Teaching Standards Commission will also be invited to participate. The advisory council will ensure that high quality, collaboratively developed programs will be offered in geographically dispersed locations at existing University and program sites.

UNC Center for School Leadership Development Facility

There shall be a new facility in a central location for the Center which shall include state-of-the-art instructional, office, and residential space, and provide the latest instructional and communications technology. The director of the UNC Center for School Leadership Development and the chair of the Board of Trustees will have joint responsibility for coordinating the design of the facility with UNC General Administration and with potential occupants of the facility.

Other Related Issues

The Education Consortia and the Model Clinical Teaching Programs are located within Schools/Colleges of Education and should be governed and directed by them. They will not become part of the Center nor come under the administrative oversight of the director, nor be a part of the Professional Development Advisory Council.

The Model Clinical Teaching Programs will serve a research and development function for the Schools/Colleges of Education. Their models for extended internships for teacher preparation students have led to the development of University-School Teacher Education Partnerships. Future areas of focus might include induction, mentoring, and/or collaborative team training of teachers and administrators, school psychologists, school social workers and others.

The Education Consortia have a broad-based mission including improving education practices but also enhancing economic development in a region. The consortia conduct a wide variety of seminars and workshops for educators and business leaders with many activities being conducted as partnerships programs with other agencies.