Welcome to the Fall 2013 se-mester! As the new Academic Program Coordinator, I’m excited to serve the community I’ve been a part of over the last two

years. I so appreciate the good wishes and sup-port I have received from faculty, staff, and both past and present students as I take on this new role. The transition has been a smooth one, thanks to our dedicated office staff, Donna Mar-tinez-Vallejo, Lisa Fitchett, and Cherie An-toneilles, as well as the encouragement and pa-tience afforded me by Dr. Bauer, Dr. Shahrokhi, and the rest of our EDLE colleagues. While teach-ing continues to be my passion, I look forward to collaborating with the EDLE community as we take on new ventures for expansion in the com-ing years.

A change in leadership often offers an opportuni-ty for growth and renewal, and the same is true here at Mason. For example, Dr. Angel Cabrera became GMU’s sixth president in July 2012 and shortly thereafter, was charged with the creation of a new vision for the university in collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders. Much like the process we espouse in EDLE 610, Leading Schools and Communities, focus groups were created to solicit stakeholder feedback, surveys were conducted, town hall meetings scheduled and in March 2013, a new vision emerged: A university for the world (http:/vision.gmu.edu). Commitments to students, the faculty/staff/graduate students, and the commu-nity evolved with a more global context. Now the real work begins: crafting an action plan to en-sure the university aligns its decision-making with this vision on a daily basis.

While there has also been a leadership change in the EDLE program, our vision remains the same. We educate exceptional leaders who act with

integrity as they work to improve schools. For our facul-ty and staff, this means providing the highest quality education for our students. We are committed to demonstrating the leadership actions and dispositions we espouse throughout the program. And most im-portantly, we want to ensure our graduates are pre-pared to take on the challenges presented in local school districts. This means creating interactive, learn-ing opportunities in our classrooms that connect current research to practical application. Whether it’s crafting a school improvement project in EDLE 690, a curriculum framework in EDLE 616, or a parent involvement pro-gram in EDLE 610, we want to engage our students in meaningful work both in and out of our classrooms in preparation for their role as instructional leaders.

As many of you may know, our graduates complete an exit survey to share what worked for them in the pro-gram and to identify areas of growth. We then use this data to help guide future decision-making. A common theme from the past few years has been a desire for more career advisement. To address this need, we are excited to host a spring conference focused on Career Counseling and Advising titled: The EDLE Leader Launch. Planning is underway, and we hope you will take the time to provide us with feedback on the kinds of information and activities that would be most helpful as you begin applying for administrative positions. A conference survey has been posted on MyMason, and for EDLE Alumni the survey is posted in https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KWLZR6N so please sign in and let us know how to tailor the sessions to best meet your needs!

This issue of the newsletter focuses on the most im-portant aspect of leadership in any organization: its people. We welcome new faculty members, hear high-lights from recent graduates, and Dr. Alan Sturrock provides us with an in-depth interview with graduate Janna Toche, who will be attending The Aspiring Trans-formational Principal Academy in Minneapolis. We hope the perspectives from our EDLE graduates will help current students reflect on their future professional aspirations, especially as they finish the program and begin to explore potential leadership opportunities.

Thank you again for your continued support. I look for-ward to working with each of you in the coming year to ensure the continued growth and success of our EDLE program.

Greetings from the EDLE Academic Program Coordinator

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

SLLA Review Ses-

sion January 31st on the Fairfax Campus.

Spring 2014 clas-

ses begin the week of January 20th for campus students and cohort classes begin the week of January 7th.

Spring 2014

Admission appli-cation deadline is November 1, 2013.

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

Greetings from the EDLE

Coordinator

1

EDLE Graduates on the Move

2

Interview 3

Cohort News 4

Faculty From a Far

4

New Faculty 5

CEHD Core Values

6

Volume 4, Issue 3

Fall 2013

Education Leadership

Welcome to the Fall Semester G

eorg

e M

ason

U

nive

rsity

Anne-Marie Balzano

EDLE Program Coordinator

My name is Desiree Reynolds-Tickle and I recently graduated from GMU with my Mas-ters in Education Leadership. At the begin-

ning of Sep-tember, I was offered and accept-ed the posi-tion of Assis-tant Principal for Cougar Elementary School in Manassas Park City Schools! In

I serve as PD specialist for the Language Arts depart-ment of PWCS. I develop col-laborative and professional relationships with col-leagues, ad-ministrators and members

of the Offices of Student Learning. I also assess professional developmental needs, design and facilitate projects, courses, workshops, seminars and training in align-ment with the Division’s Strategic Plan,

Desiree Reynolds-Tickle

EDLE Graduates on the Move Page 2

Artise Gill

due to my vast experiences during the Leadership Program, I look forward to tack-ling the day's work and ensuring that all children are safe, happy and available to learn at their greatest poten-tial daily!

In each newsletter, we like to highlight two or more of our graduates who have been hired into administrative positions or had recent promotions. This time we feature recent graduates from the Prince William 17 cohort who accepted leadership positions this fall.

the first month of my new position, I have encountered many challenges that have encompassed a piece of every class I participated in over my two years of stud-ying through George Mason. While no class can prepare you for the extent in which you will utilize different portions of information, I can solidly say that GMU provided me with a realistic vision of what to anticipate. Through collaborating with classmates over multiple scenarios from the "real world", I gained a big picture view of how all stakeholders may be im-pacted by a decision I may make or play a part in deciding. The job is nothing less than exhilarating on a daily basis, and

school goals, the Professional Perfor-mance Process Standards, and national standards for professional development.

I support teachers to improve and sus-tain student achievement through demonstration lessons, co-planning, co-teaching, observations with growth-producing feedback, and facilitation of teacher reflection.

The EDLE program helped me by prepar-ing me for the immediate opportunity to apply for and obtain a leadership posi-tion. The knowledge I gained from the professors, classes and assignments gave me the confidence to step into an administrative role without delay. The

GMU Cohort program aligns itself with the PWCS school system in such a way that its participants are prepared with relevant communication and standards knowledge. Those that complete the program will be more than ready for any administrative position that may arise.

Above: Artise Gill

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Above: Desiree Reynolds-

Tickle

“I can solidly say that GMU provided me with a realistic vision of what to anticipate. Through collaborating with classmates over multiple scenarios from the "real world".

-Desiree Reynolds-Tickle

“The GMU Cohort program aligns itself with the PWCS school system in such a way that its participants are prepared with relevant communica-tion and standards knowledge.”

-Artise Gill

Minnesota Bound: Interview with Janna Toche Page 3

[Note: Janna Toche entered the EDLE Pro-gram in the Fall of 2010, took a year off, and re-entered in the Summer of 2012. She graduated in August, 2013].

My leadership roots I believe go back to when I was working on my first bachelor’s degree. I went to High school and College in Boca Raton FL, where there happens to be an abundance of country clubs. During my freshman year of college, I initially wanted to pursue a degree in education. However in my first class the professor stated “if you go into education right now, you will always be in school”. At 18 years old, a recent high school graduate, I ran for the hills. I took a part time job at a country club as a hostess which led me into the field of Hospitality Management at Florida International University. I learned a lot about working with people and managing employees in fine dining country club set-tings. I would have to say, the involvement of the country club members draws some serious parallels to many parents in school communities.

One of my first Food & Beverage Directors, Tom Pugliese, taught me a lot, not only about managing the environment and re-sources, but also about working with the members and keeping everyone happy and satisfied. I next took a job in the catering at Boca West Country Club, where I worked with another manager. Let’s say I learned many things about how to treat your staff the right way.

Although I loved working in hospitality, I felt that I needed more of a purpose. I didn’t feel as though I was “saving the world” by coordinating golf luncheons. I decided to give education another shot and enrolled at FAU to pursue a master’s degree in ele-mentary education. During my first semes-ter I knew I had made the right decision.

Throughout my time as a teacher, I have worked with seven different principals. I would say that from them I have learned many things which I would do as a leader, and unfortunately many more I would not do. One of the biggest inspirations for pursuing an educational leadership posi-tion is my aspiration to be a more effective leader than those I have worked with.

I have learned how to be procedural. Hav-ing a clear process in schools with some flexibility helps run a smooth program. I have also learned how to be an effective human resources manager. As a principal, the majority of your staff is the maternal head of household. Family must always come first. Being understanding of your staff needs and supporting them, will re-sult in a reciprocal relationship where they in turn will be dedicated and supportive of the school.

I have often defined the EDLE program as a “solid” program which not only prepares you for your upcoming leadership role, but also begins the process of reflecting on your own practices and the practices of those around you.

There are many courses which I feel were particularly helpful. The course on Human Resources really opened my eyes to many of the behind the scenes policies and prac-tices on hiring. I learned the importance of hiring the right individuals and what that process looks like. The Leading Schools and Communities course made me reflect on the many involvement practices that schools could be utilizing and how it truly connects back to students learning and achievement. I also attribute much of my learning to the Curriculum course I took. I learned how choosing the right curriculum is not as easy as one would think, especial-ly given the politics in many school dis-tricts.

Throughout the program, the idea of col-laboration was really present. Learning to empower others and motivate your staff through a collaborative process was para-mount. I was always brought back to visi-bility; being visible in your building and not in your office all day was also an important idea.

My Supervision of Instruction class defi-nitely made me think of evaluating teach-ers. In reflecting on the process of evalua-tion, it brought me back to visibility and

collaboration. In my opinion, I believe that your best teachers can actually be identi-fied just by attending collaborative team meetings. Hearing the way teachers de-scribe their students can be so eye open-ing. I think the simple act of a teacher de-scribing a student’s thinking process, or how they approach problems, will definitely be one way to identify great teachers.

While my courses provided a lot of powerful theories and practices, I attribute the changes I have seen in myself as a result of the excellent professors I had the privilege of learning from. Their expertise and teaching abilities elevated the course con-tent to a higher level and empowered stu-dents to reflect and transform into instruc-tional leaders.

The theorists/researchers that I align most of my thinking to are mainly curriculum based. I have received professional devel-opment based on the work from the College of William and Mary Center for Gifted Edu-cation. The work of Carol Ann Tomlinson on differentiating instruction, Kagan’s Cooper-ative Learning Structures, and McTighe & Wiggins’ Understanding by Design, are all central in my mind when I think of best practices in schools.

The Aspiring Transformational Principal Academy is an innovative and rigorous new internship that Minneapolis Public Schools is starting this coming school year. The program is designed for those who are ea-ger to assume principal roles and dramati-cally increase outcomes and opportunities for MPS students, families, and schools.

The program is a standards-based aspiring principal academy, similar to the New York City Principal Academy, designed to prepare future principals to transform under-performing schools in Minneapolis. A small, very selective cohort was chosen to ad-vance their skills in change management and instructional leadership through inten-sive experiential and problem-based learn-ing over 13 months.

Transformational Principal Interns engage in a full academic-year residency at an MPS school. I will assume leadership responsibil-

To what [and whom] do you ascribe your 'Leadership Roots'?

How have the EDLE experiences helped shape your leader 'skill sets'?

Which courses, in particular, did you find most helpful and why?

Describe the program you are going to in Minnesota? What are the challenges you think you will face? How is it similar or different to your current situation?

Above: Janna Toche

Continued…. Page 3

ities, while being mentored by a veteran principal and coached by program facilita-tors. I will be engaging in weekly profes-sional development seminars and com-plete rigorous, standards-aligned assign-ments. The summer following my residen-cy, I will continue my training and develop a strategic plan for school which I will be leading.

At the completion of the program, I will have earned a specialist degree in admin-istration from Minnesota State University at Mankato, receive my Minnesota Principal license, and then make a three year com-mitment as a principal with Minneapolis Public Schools.

As a new leader in Minneapolis Public School, I believe I will face additional chal-lenges in the program since I will not only be learning leadership skills, but I will also be learning about MPS. I do however feel

as though I am at a significant advantage. MPS is looking for innovative ideas and strategic leadership. Having taught with Fairfax County Public schools, I have had the privilege of the amazing professional development and leadership opportunities which they offer. I come to Minneapolis with new ideas and practices. In addition, I will also have my Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from George Ma-son. The program has more than pre-pared me for the supervision of instruc-tion and curricular decisions which I will be making.

The most challenging aspect of my new adventure will definitely be the battle over espoused theories versus theories in ac-tion. Currently, everything that I believe and hope to put in place, are best practic-es and how I see myself as a Principal. However, Principals are often pulled in many directions all day, putting out fire

after fire. I hope as principal I am able to align my espoused theory and my theory in action.

Alan Sturrock

EDLE

Cohort News

Above: Alan Sturrock

EDLE Faculty

Faculty From A Far

Dr. Michelle Van Lare is now a Visiting Scholar at The Uni-versity of California, San Die-go and busy learning what is happening in CA policy. She’s teaching and continuing to research teacher collabora-tion, data use, and instruc-tional improvement, particu-larly as schools adopt the Common Core Standards. While she is enjoying life on the West coast, Dr. Van Lare is looking forward to returning to GMU in the future.

Dr. David Brazer took a new position at Stanford University as the Director of Leadership Degree Programs. As a Stan-ford alum and former principal in the Bay Area, Dr. Brazer is excited to return to California and embark on the next phase of his career!

Michelle Van Lare David Brazer

Michelle Van Lare, Former

Assistant Professor Dr. David Brazer, Former

EDLE Program Coordinator

The EDLE program continues to grow as we gear up for a new Regional North Cohort beginning January of 2014. If the demand is there we are able to offer a second Regional North Cohort in June 2014. The Regional North Cohort will meet in Fairfax County but will be open to teachers from all surrounding coun-ties. We are going to start recruitment for a Regional West cohort in the Frederick/Winchester area to start in summer or fall of 2014. For more information on up-coming cohorts contact Dr. Farnoosh Shahrokhi at fshahrok@gmu.edu.

Dr. Farnoosh Shahrokhi

EDLE Program Coordinator

Peter Noonan, Ed.D., is Super-intendent of Fairfax City schools in Vir-ginia. Previous-ly, he was the assistant su-perintendent

for instructional services for Fairfax County Public Schools. His focus is working to ensure that all schools in his division have strong collaborative teams that support the highest levels of learning and incorpo-rate 21st century skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativi-ty) seamlessly.

Dr. Noonan began his career as a special education teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he also served as dean of students and chair of the special education depart-ment. He moved into the administrative ranks in 1997 and has been an assistant principal and principal at the middle and high school levels.

In 2009, he was named one of the Top 10

Sonya Horsford joins CEHD as an associate profes-sor of education in the Education Leadership pro-gram. She holds an EdD in educa-tional leadership and an MPA in public admin-istration from University of Ne-

vada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Her previous posi-tion was senior

resident scholar of education at The Lincy Institute at UNLV, and prior to that she was an assistant professor in UNLV’s Depart-ment of Educational Leadership.

Horsford’s research areas and interests include educational leadership and policy, contexts of educational leadership, educa-tional inequality and opportunity, race and

Peter Noonan

New Faculty Page 4

Sonya Horsford

Educators in America under the age of 40 by Scholastic Administrator. Dr. Noonan was also named 2010 Educator of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa for the Northern Virginia region.

He earned a doctorate from Virginia Tech, and received a master of arts (in educa-tion and special education) and bachelor of university studies from the University of New Mexico. He also attended the Univer-sity of Essex in Colchester, England, where he com-pleted advanced study of contem-porary British and Shakespear-ean literature. Dr. Noonan’s re-search interests include instruc-tion and assess-ment in the preK–12 classrooms and education and the law.

education, and community-based school reform. She is a member of the editorial boards of Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of School Leadership, and Journal of Negro Education.

In 2011, she received the Emerging Schol-ar Award from Division A of the American Educational Research Association and Outstanding Reviewer Award from Educa-tional Administration Quarterly, which is published by the University Council for Educational Administration. She was re-cently ap-pointed to serve as an Associate Editor of the Journal of School Lead-ership.

Above: Sonya Horsford

EDLE Faculty

Above: Peter Noonan

EDLE Faculty

Above: Fairfax Campus Photo by

Creative Services

In 2009, he was named one of the Top 10 Educators in Amer-ica under the age of 40 by Scholastic Ad-ministrator.

In 2011, she received the Emerging Scholar Award from Division A of the American Educa-tional Research Associ-ation and Outstanding Reviewer Award from Educational Admin-istration Quarterly.

Above: Fairfax Campus Photo by

Creative Services

Above: Fairfax Campus Photo by

Creative Services

CEHD Core Values

In the context of an enduring college-

level and university-level commit-

ment to teaching, research and ser-

vice, the College of Education and

Human Development also holds the

following core values:

Collaboration

Collaboration is an important human

activity that involves shared respon-

sibility in promoting healthy, pro-

ductive lives and educational success.

We commit ourselves to work toward

these goals in genuine partnerships

with individuals, families, communi-

ty agencies, schools, businesses,

foundations, and other groups at the

local, regional, national and interna-

tional levels.

Ethical Leadership

In all professions represented by the

college, leadership is an essential

component denoting ability and will-

ingness to help lead professional

practice to higher levels. We commit

ourselves to practice ethical leader-

ship through deliberate and system-

atic attention to the ethical principles

that guide all leaders in a moral soci-

ety.

Innovation

We have a history of creating dynamic,

innovative programs and we are dedi-

cated to continue creating innovative

approaches in all areas of our work.

We commit ourselves to seeking new

ways to advance knowledge, solve

problems, improve our professional

practice and expand on our successes.

Research-Based Practice

The best practice in any discipline is

based upon sound research and profes-

sional judgment. We commit ourselves

to basing our instruction, scholarship

and policy recommendations on well-

established principles that, wherever

possible, emerge from research and

reflection on its implications for pro-

fessional practice.

Social Justice

Social justice embodies essential prin-

ciples of equity and access to all oppor-

tunities in society, in accordance with

democratic principles and respect for

all persons and points of view. We

commit ourselves to promoting equity,

opportunity, and social justice through

the college's operations and its mis-

sions related to teaching, research, and

service.

George Mason University EDLE Program Office

Thompson Hall Suite 1300 4400 University Drive, MSN 4C2

Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: 703-993-3633 Fax: 703-993-3643

Dr. Anne-Marie Balzano EDLE Academic Coordinator

Phone: 703-993-5699 alohse@gmu.edu

Dr. Farnoosh Shahrokhi EDLE Outreach Coordinator

Phone: 703-993-2009 fshahrok@gmu.edu

EDLE Vision

The Education Leadership Program is

dedicated to improving the quality of

pre-K-12 education through teaching,

research and service. Candidates and

practicing administrators engage in

course work devoted to experiential

learning, professional growth

opportunities, and doctoral research

that informs practice. We educate

exceptional leaders who act with

integrity as they work to improve

schools.

E D U C A T I O N L E A D E R S H I P P ROG R AM C ON T AC T

I N F O R M AT I O N