THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270381
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Principals used to get high marks just for following the rules and keeping their schools under control. No longer.
School boards, responding to a national movement to give more power to teachers, administrators and parents at the school level, increasingly expect their principals to be well-trained, decisive and savvy about things such as public relations and money matters.
The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce wants to hasten the change.
The chamber this year will kick off a new program called the Hampton Roads Education Leadership Academy. It's a two-year course aimed at teaching the area's principals, aspiring principals and other administrators how to be good leaders and how to turn out students who will be productive in a changing economy.
``I really think this program is a cutting-edge program,'' said Gregory N. Stillman, a former Virginia Beach School Board chairman and leader of the chamber's regional education group. ``We have not been able to determine that there's anything quite like it in the country.''
The academy's first 30 students, from Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Suffolk, will be announced next month.
During one-day sessions over the next two school years, they'll learn about topics such as the Hampton Roads economy, local and state politics, technology, public relations, team building and current business and management practices.
Participants also will be paired with local business leaders, who will act as mentors for the duration of the two-year program.
The idea is to help administrators improve by exposing them to the world outside the schoolhouse.
As school systems give teachers and principals more decision-making power, Stillman said, ``We recognized principals were going to be called upon to make more and more decisions that in some cases they might not be qualified to make based upon their educational experience.''
The program also will ``give the business community a better idea of what a good job public education is doing,'' he said.
A six-member committee made up of representatives from each area city, including an official from Norfolk public schools and a professor from Virginia Wesleyan College, will choose the participants from a pool of nominations made by area superintendents.
Tuition will be $2,000 per participant, an amount likely to be covered or at least subsidized by area school systems.
Stillman said the chamber will look to expand the program next year, offering more slots for administrators who are interested.
``I think it's a fabulous concept,'' said Donald E. Stowers, principal of Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, who also teaches George Washington University graduate courses for educators studying to be administrators.
``I think there will be a lot of interest, because we have a curiosity about the business world,'' Stowers said. ``The curiosity stems from the fact that we're novices about something that they (industry) have been doing for a long time, and we need to be exposed to, because we can no longer work in isolation.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE CURRICULUM
Hampton Roads' economy.
Local and state politics.
Technology.
Public relations.
Team building.
Business and management.
by CNB