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In a school system of 1.1 million children and more than 1,400
schools, achieving system-wide excellence is no easy task.
Rather than attempting short term programmatic fixes, Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein launched
the bold and comprehensive Children First reform effort, placing
principal leadership at its core. As part of this effort,
in January 2003, the NYC Leadership Academy was created as
a separate non-profit organization to recruit, train, and
support a new generation of outstanding principals.
The Academy is the centerpiece of the NYC Department
of Education’s transformational strategy. The approach
the Academy has taken to leadership development is unprecedented
in the public sector. The Academy was modeled after successful
private sector initiatives such as General Electric’s
John F. Welch Leadership Center and the Ameritech Institute.
The Academy is actively working on building a team of 1,400
great principals who are true instructional leaders, who can
inspire and lead teachers, students and parents in their school
community.
The NYC Leadership Academy’s training
focuses on setting a clear plan for increasing student achievement
by developing the instructional leadership and management
expertise of NYC public school principals.
At the core of Chancellor Klein and Mayor
Bloomberg’s Children First reform agenda is the firm
belief that success will require a dramatic change in the NYC
Department of Education to a new culture that places a premium
on student learning and achievement. The launch of the Leadership
Academy marked the start of this journey.
"I just wanted to let you know that
the overall experience has been quite rewarding. I have learned
so much from the team as well as from my colleagues. We have
grown over the past months - sharing successes and failures.
Many bonds have been formed, and we look to each other for
support. Thank you for creating this program. It has helped
me to stay focused on what is most important - the education
of our children."
- 2003-2004 New Principals On-Boarding
Program participant
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