Blazing New Trails - Connexions

4
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
(3) The federal mandates in No Child Left Behind that require schools to demonstrate
Adequate Yearly Progress in reading and math embody a utopian goal that no state or
nation has ever met: 100% proficiency on state tests. This has resulted in
accountability measures that narrow the curriculum, especially for poor children, and
game the system rather than helping students learn more. Measures that help schools,
teachers, and administrators determine how well they are serving their at-risk students
require: enhancements to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
that will allow it to provide disaggregated data in more nuanced ways and to assess a
much broader range of subjects; additional tools to assess children’s health, values,
civic engagement, and other curricular and societal goals; and state flexibility in
designing accountability systems so that a range of models can be tested to meet
district needs. (pp. 1–2)
In order to put us on a different trail that will allow all children to achieve their hopes
and dreams in our present day and for the future, we need to be the new pioneers tenaciously
blazing the trail to a strategy of building a strong education profession and attending to the
conditions of young people's lives. Our efforts should be changed from the current punitive
approach of rankings, score comparisons and “races to the top.” We should instead be taking
steps to recruit, support and respect those who work in our nation’s schools. Rather than
ignoring poverty and its negative consequences, we should be designing programs to help
families and children achieve social justice in education. As McKerrow and Shockley-Lee
(2005) so adeptly pointed out, “Social justice is defined not only by what it is but also by what
it is not, namely injustice. By seeking justice, we anticipate the ideal. By questioning injustice
we approach it. Integrating both, we achieve it” (p. 1).
In our leadership programs, we have an obligation to equip school leaders to pursue
social justice and undertake a change of direction from the trail we are now on in respect to
the overemphasis on assessment and accountability. As Marshall and Oliva (2006) stated,
“…educational leaders are the people who must deliver some version of social justice and
equity” (p.1). As stated in her message to the NCPEA membership in 2007, Past-President,
Linda Morford, commented, “Critics of school leadership preparation contend that many of
our programs have failed to produce credible leaders capable of addressing the complex
demands placed on contemporary schools” (p. 3). In fact, as Morford (2007 stressed, we
have a clear choice. We can continue to defend ourselves against detractors such as
Arthur Levine (2005), the business community, government and others, or we can . . .
create an epidemic in our profession where we summon the will to work with others to
address issues facing schools and, thus, improve our preparation programs. (p. 3)
I encourage you to pursue the latter and be among the new pioneers and “voices of reason”
pursuing a change of direction in achieving a new frontier of equity and access for all our
nation’s schools.
The 2011 edition of the Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of
Educational Administration is an exceptional collection of manuscripts focused on issues
impacting leadership preparation. I would like to thank an extraordinary group of NCPEA
members who served in a variety of capacities to make this particular publication happen.
Under the very capable leadership of Betty Alford, editor; George Perrault and Luana Zellner,
associate editors; and Julia Ballenger, assistant editor, this year’s work is another outstanding
publication for our organization. Additionally, special thanks must be extended to Ted