School of Education E-newsletter

by: Dr. Kathy Brown, Coordinator
 
It has been a busy year for the Division of Educational Leadership.  Drs. Brown and Woelfel have enthusiastically embraced LiveText and taken the lead in developing program and unit assessments for The Citadel's assessment system for professional education.  Perhaps the most significant achievement for this academic year is the arrangement bringing the University of South Carolina's Ph.D. program in Educational Administration to the Lowcountry.  Beginning in the fall of 2007, USC in collaboration with The Citadel, the College of Charleston, and the Lowcountry Graduate Center will offer this Ph. D. program to a select cohort of area educators.  This arrangement will enable area educators who have completed The Citadel's Education Specialist degree in educational leadership and who qualify for superintendency certification to earn their doctorate within two years.  For more information regarding this exciting professional growth opportunity, please visit the USC-Cola websites:  http://www.ed.sc.edu/edlp/ProgramDocuments/PHDprogram.pdf and http://www.ed.sc.edu/edlp/edad.asp. 
 
In addition to this very exciting arrangement with USC, the Division of Educational Leadership in the Citadel's School of Education is partnering with the Charleston County School District's (CCSD) ASPIRE program.  ASPIRE is a CCSD initiative for "growing administrators" through a  two year, Master's in Educational Administration program focused on leadership and best practice.
 
More than 40 classroom teachers participated in a rigorous selection process producing a cohort of 20 area teachers scheduled to begin this program in the fall of 2007.  This specially designed program includes coursework taught by Citadel faculty augmented by presentations by CCSD personnel to ensure that theory is connected to practice and applications.  In addition to coursework, the program offers participants relevant shadowing opportunities, directed discussions of leadership studies, and opportunities for reflection through journal entries.
 
The division of Educational Leadership launched this initiative at an orientation session on May 23, 2007 in Capers Hall on The Citadel campus.  In addition to socializing with one another, members of the cohort met key educational leadership faculty, received answers to their questions regarding the admission to The Citadel, and were introduced to LiveText.    Coursework begins in August and participants will be able to earn their masters' degree and qualify for principalship certification through this two-year program. 
 
In addition to these activities, the Division of Educational Leadership has been busy revising and clarifying admission requirements and policies for our masters, certification only, and educational specialist programs.  The Division's search for a senior level faculty member was not successful, but the search will continue during the next academic year.