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Professional Development Meeting
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Planning for leadership succession can provide increased continuity of strategic focus and enable your organization to avoid unnecessary turbulence during times of leadership transition. In these fiscally uncertain times, loss of district productivity due to problems in leadership turnover can be especially problematic. Districts need planning tools and development processes to maximize existing talent and cultivate the necessary leadership skills to grow student achievement and build the overall performance capacity of the organization.
Failure is not an option and hope is not a strategy. When discussing our work in Aurora Public Schools (CO) I often use these words first coined by Gene Krantz, the NASA Apollo 13 Mission Director. Every day parents not only entrust us with their children, they assume that we are doing everything possible to ensure their children’s success. It is our duty to meet these expectations. To do this in Aurora Public Schools (APS), we had to transform our school district.
Read more: Aurora Public Schools: Building a Culture of Trust
During a regular breakfast meeting with industry leaders, Dr. Joe Hairston, Superintendent of the 104,000-student Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), had a “light bulb” moment. With leaders from Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Johns Hopkins University, University of Baltimore, Breakaway Games, and TrainingPort Strategies at the table, Hairston brainstormed about forming an innovative partnership to align the goals of industry with the goals of the district to boost STEM – science, technology, engineering and math education – in the Baltimore County Public Schools.
In 2005, GE Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the General Electric Company, launched the Developing Futures in Education program, to which it has committed more than $150 million to drive reform at six U.S. school districts. While the objective is to prepare students for college and for careers in math and science, this program is unique in its approach. The program focuses on growing school district management capacity through a vibrant partnership between the districts and GE’s corporate and divisional managers. GE managers bring to bear their expertise in core areas such as personnel management, resource allocation, collaboration, and technology to accelerate change and scale up innovations. Districts have experienced impressive successes, from implementing new math and science curricula to enhancing professional development programs. In this edited interview with Bob Corcoran, President and Chairman of GE Foundation, and Kelli Wells, Director of U.S. Education Programs of GE Foundation, DMC's John J-H Kim discusses Developing Futures, and GE's innovative approach to working with these districts.
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