A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Biennial Evaluation Report - FY 93-94

Chapter 616

Leadership in Educational Administration Development

(CFDA No. 84.178)

I. Program Profile

Legislation: The Higher Education Act of 1965, P.L. 89-329, Title V, Part C, Subpart 2 as amended (20 U.S.C. 1109a-1109d) (expired September 30, 1992).

Purpose: The Leadership in Educational Administration Development program (LEAD) provided funding for the establishment or operation of State training and technical assistance centers to upgrade the leadership skills of elementary and secondary school administrators.

Funding History

Fiscal Year	Appropriation
1986	$7,176,000
1987	7,177,000
1988	8,222,000
1989	4,306,000
1990	3,845,000
1991	3,831,000
1992	370,000

II. Program Information and Analysis

(The program was not authorized in FY 1993; this is a final report on the program.)

Population Targeting

LEAD-funded centers served approximately 90,000 school administrators, including superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and other central office and building administrators--each year.

Services

Centers provided data collection and analysis; training programs, consultation, and technical assistance to school districts, schools, and administrators; and information dissemination. Data collection and analysis activities were designed to gather State-specific information on the training and technical assistance needs of administrators, so that the LEAD centers could plan their services accordingly. They included surveys of school boards, the State education agencies, and administrator organizations, as well as individual assessment instruments for administrators such as competency assessments. Topics covered included administrator turnover, demonstrating competencies, training needs, and certification requirements.

Training and technical assistance for inservice providers formed the heart of LEAD-funded center activities. Offerings in leadership training, assessment and other diagnostic processes, and school improvement and restructuring were among the topics covered. LEAD centers also worked with colleges and universities to reform their administrator preservice preparation programs.

In addition to shifting their emphasis from direct service delivery to long-term capacity building, LEAD-funded centers made use of private sector expertise. Centers arranged for training slots in corporate executive development programs, adapted corporate programs to State needs, and hence developed partnerships between schools or districts and business to develop and implement jointly supported long-term education plans.

Many centers offered special conferences, training, and support networks for both minority and women educators. Scholarships and other forms of financial support made their participation possible.

Program Administration

Federal funds were awarded on a competitive basis to support one LEAD center in each State, the District of Columbia, and the Pacific and Caribbean Insular Areas with equal funding for each center. Grants were for an initial period of 3 years. Grantees were then given 3 year extensions at a reduced level of Federal funding. The center in one State subsequently dropped out of the program. Each center was required by statute to provide matching funds in amounts equal to the Federal grant during the first 3 years, and could be awarded a 3 year extension if the grantee agreed to maintain the program with Federal assistance reduced by one-half. Two additional grantees withdrew from the program and rejected additional funding due to inability to provide matching funds. Many grantees are consortia or collaborative associations involving two or more organizations. Among the organizations providing services were State departments of education (23), colleges and universities (19), administrator or education associations (9), nonprofit organizations (3), a local education agency (1), and an area service agency (1).

Outcomes

The LEAD centers were required by law to conduct and submit annual progress reports to the Department. One consistent finding across the evaluations was that project participants reported generally high levels of satisfaction with services and indicated that they intended to apply new skills on the job. More recent evaluations of specific program elements noted that trainees' on-the-job behavior was more effective.

Centers developed new, research-based leadership training curricula, leadership diagnostic instruments, resource guides, and similar materials to support leadership training, which are available to LEAD centers nationwide. In addition, comprehensive, long-term programs replaced the single-focus workshop offerings in many States. Finally, formal assessment centers were introduced or expanded in several States coupled with complementary training programs to meet identified training needs. Centers provided advanced training programs to equip administrators to implement State reform policies and promote systemic educational change in such areas as effective schooling, restructuring, and strategic planning. In many States, LEAD centers promoted coalitions among educational organizations and associations, State agencies, and policymakers--promoting their involvement on a range of education-related issues.

LEAD centers also expanded their activities through additional resources. For example, Alaska and Maine LEAD centers competed for and received grants to operate Academies for School Leaders under the Secretary's Fund for Innovation in Education program. These grants enabled these centers to expand and continue the work they had conducted through LEAD.

According to program performance reports and evaluations, projects have helped reform preservice preparation programs, assisted minorities and women to enter and advance in the field of educational administration, and created collaborative relationships with the business sector to engage private sector resources in the improvement of school leadership.

III. Sources of Information

Program files, grant applications, continuation applications and performance reports, and project evaluations.

IV. Planned Studies

None.

V. Contacts for Further Information

Program Operations:: Lynn Spencer, (202) 219-2179
Program Studies:: Daphne Hardcastle, (202) 401-1958

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[Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Education Regional Consortiums Program]

[Star Schools Program]