Future Leaders Project

In a cooperative effort with three universities, the ND LEAD Center aims to promote better-trained school leaders and more effective schools through identifying and developing aspiring school leaders and supporting them through mentoring relationships with practitioners in the field. Major components of the project include: 1) an activity to identify and recruit school leaders (Aspiring School Leaders Conference), 2) assessment activities to identify, select, and develop school leaders (Developmental Assessment Center; Developing the 21st Century Principal), and 3) development and support activities (Mentoring and Coaching; Early-Career School Leaders Conference).

Aspiring School Leaders' Conference

This program aims to provide information and assistance to help aspiring school leaders address two questions: 1) "Is school leadership right for me?" and 2) "Am I right for school leadership?" During this program, participants interact with successful school principals and experience "what it's like to be a principal" through job-like simulations. Participants also receive information about credentialing requirements, graduate school preparation programs, and current trends in professional development for school administrators. The Aspiring School Leaders' Conference is a one-day event, appropriate for elementary, middle, or secondary teachers aspiring to a career in educational leadership.

Developmental Assessment Center (DAC)

DAC identifies aspiring school administrators' leadership skills and assists them in planning their professional development. The program identifies strengths and potential problem areas in four broad skill categories: administrative, interpersonal, communication, and self-knowledge. Instead of talking about what they might or should do in a given situation, DAC participants are challenged to actually demonstrate their knowledge and skills through realistic simulations while being observed by a team of trained assessors. After each simulation, participants meet with an assessor to discuss their performance and receive feedback and coaching. In addition to verbal feedback, each participant receives a written report that outlines strengths, possible problem areas that might derail their success, and suggestions for growth and development. The process is designed to help aspiring school leaders by providing base-line data to be used in short- and long-term professional development planning. DAC is an integral part of the educational leadership preparation programs at the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University. The program also is offered to early-career principals as a professional growth experience to help diagnose their skills and prepare individual development plans. DAC is a one-day event with an individual follow-up consultation.

Developing the
21st Century Principal (D21)

D21 is a comprehensive assessment process that identifies performance abilities in three general areas of educational leadership and nine specific skill dimensions identified as critical for success in the principalship. The process serves as an authentic performance demonstration at the end of graduate students’ preparation programs in educational leadership. It also provides participants with objective information about their leadership strengths and improvement needs to be used in preparing for on-the-job performance and planning future professional development activities. D21 is similar to the Developmental Assessment Center (DAC); however, D21 assesses the level of skill demonstrated using the complete range of a skill continuum (strength, competency, developmental zone, noticeable problem area, and derailer). DAC assesses only strengths and potential derailers. The categories and skills assessed include:1) Educational Leadership (Setting Instructional Direction, Teamwork, Sensitivity, Development of Others), 2) Resolving Complex Problems (Judgment, Results Orientation, Organizational Ability), and 3) Communication (Oral and Written Communication). During the assessment center, participants perform a series of activities that simulate the tasks of a school principal. In some of the activities participants work alone while in others they work in a group. A staff of experienced educational leaders, who have been trained as “assessors,” observe and analyze participants’ work to determine the level of skill demonstrated. D21 is a one and one-half day event during which participants receive immediate verbal feedback along with a written assessment report and follow-up consultation.

D21 Assessor Training

The D21 program is staffed by experienced practitioners, called "assessors," who have been specially trained to observe, record, and analyze behavior; provide specific feedback; and write comprehensive follow-up reports. Assessors must be knowledgeable, credible, and committed to serving and advancing the profession. D21 Assessor Training is a two-day event in which trainees learn the theoretical underpinnings and practice all aspects of the program. To ensure integrity of the process, all trainees must be certified before serving as D21 assessors.

Mentoring and Coaching Training

The aim of mentoring and coaching is to support the growth and development of aspiring and early-career school administrators in the state. Formal Mentoring and Coaching Training eliminates some of the chance and trail and error of informal mentoring and increases the likelihood that mentoring relationships will be successful when they take place. Mentors must be knowledgeable, credible, and, most of all, genuinely interested and committed to helping an aspiring or early-career administrator grow professionally. During the two-day event, trainees learn "best practices" for initiating and sustaining mentoring relationships and enhance their skills through simulations and role-plays.

Mentor Relationships

Mentors are experienced role models who guide the professional development of less experienced individuals through coaching and advising. Mentoring relationships provide leadership development support for graduate students as well as on-the-job support for early-career administrators. Mentoring relationships are initiated in a variety of forms, but never are forced. Benefits of mentoring for new and aspiring administrators include: expanded knowledge and skills, development of an administrative perspective, association with a successful role model, objective feedback, help in building a professional network, and increased self-confidence. Benefits to mentors include: opportunities to reflect on own practices and skills, exposure to fresh ideas, added incentive to stay current in the field, professional satisfaction and increased self-worth from contributing to the profession by teaching and sharing experiences, and a sense of pride in their mentee's accomplishments.

Early-Career School Leaders' Conference

The objectives of this conference are to provide early-career principals and superintendents with an opportunity to hear from and interact with experienced practitioners about timely topics and for participants to network with each other. The Early-Career School Leaders' Conference is a one-day event presented by individual or panels of experienced educational leaders. The format of the conference allows participants to learn and interact around general topics such as Public Relations and Dealing With Difficult People as well as role-specific topics such as Budget and Finance for superintendents and Instructional Supervision for principals.