The Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL) in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education invited a group of 20 policy-level stakeholders to a meeting on February 7, 2008 to discuss the topic of a Professional School Leader License or Certification. The meeting was facilitated by Joe Murphy, lead consultant to Delaware CLS Project. Joan Buttram, Educational Researcher and Evaluator from the Research and Development Office at the University of Delaware, shared current research on organizations that provide professional certification such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, teachers, and nurses. She explained the processes and incentives associated with the various professional certifications. She also shared state data in regards to those states that have a professional certification or an advanced license or endorsement for school leaders. Dr. Buttram’s research showed that very few states have moved toward professional certification for school leaders, although some have approved three-tiered licenses. Dr. Joseph Aguerreberre, Executive Director of the National Board for Teaching Standards, shared the process involved in developing the national certification to teachers. He was also questioned about the board’s plans to move forward with National Board Certification for School Leaders. The information provided by Dr. Aguerreberre was helpful to the group and resulted in much discussion. Jackie Wilson, CLS Project Director, shared the findings from six focus groups of over 67 principals and the recommendations from the Professional Development Task Force. Dr. Aguerreberre praised Delaware’s work and explained that his board had approved moving forward with developing national boards for school leaders and that Joe Murphy would be facilitating that work. He gave a timeline of 2011. Delaware’s policy group made a recommendation that during the interim, the Department of Education in collaboration with DASL, should bring together a work group made up of principals, assistant principals, national board certified teachers, representatives from professional organizations representing school administrators, superintendents, personnel directors, and school leadership faculty from universities to develop a Delaware model for professional certification that could lead to an advanced license. Once this process is completed, the group can work with policymakers to decide the incentives that will be connected to the license, such as the 12% salary increment that teachers receive. Once the National Board for Teaching Standards completes their work the DOE can move forward in working with that organization for professional certification for school leaders in Delaware.
It is important to note that there are several points that are important to school leaders that served on the Professional Development Continuum Task Force. First, school leaders should give back to the profession by serving as mentors or coaches to new assistant principals and principals. Second, high quality professional development experiences are not always about attending a workshop or training session. The group recommended that experienced school leaders need to be rewarded for serving as coaches and mentors or for attending the intense training required to work in the developmental assessment center. They also recommended that successful school leaders should demonstrate leadership ability by demonstrating school improvement achievement. The task force also recognized the importance of providing incentives that rewarded successful school leaders and which would encourage them to either remain or move to positions where they can have the greatest impact on student achievement.
