Strengthening Diversity in School Leadership
Universities receive grant funding to develop a diverse leadership pipeline
Stony Brook University, in partnership with faculty from four local universities (City College of New York, Fordham University, Hofstra University and St. John’s University), is the recipient of a New York State Education Department (NYSED) grant support for a multi-pronged initiative: Strengthening a diverse leadership pipeline through leadership preparation and development.
The primary focus of this initiative is to pilot strategies to improve diversity in the leadership pipeline, while simultaneously learning from the field about challenges and successful strategies for dissemination and use. This initiative was made possible through the work of the Metropolitan Council of Education Administration Programs (MCEAP) executive committee and NYSED to address the shortage of diverse, well-prepared school leaders.
About the NYSED Grant
The grant will achieve the following objectives:
- Increasing diversity in New York State’s communities and student populations
- Addressing the ongoing shortage of school leaders prepared to support varied student learning needs
- Fostering new and better leadership skills to integrate these efforts deeply into school priorities, culture, operations, and improvement
The goal of this initiative is to increase the number of high-quality and diverse aspiring and current school and district leaders, through multi-sector (university and other) collaboration that strengthens university and district capacity and aligns with community priorities. Each proposed strategy of the initiative will be implemented collaboratively with local schools, districts, and professional associations, while piloting new approaches to leadership preparation and development and research within the field.
Goals of the Initiative
The Diversity Leadership Initiative has several goals:
- Creating a statewide pilot online leadership preparation program
- Recruiting and supporting candidates from underrepresented groups
- Providing statewide leadership development opportunities to support assistant principals and qualified teacher-leaders
- Engaging participants in a series of seminars to address a problem of practice, engage in strategic planning and problem-solving, and plan for improved family and community engagement
To learn more about the challenges and successful strategies used in the field, the university team will survey all leadership preparation programs statewide, and organize a series of town hall meetings for discussions on these topics among school and district leaders and leadership preparation faculty. Rigorous evaluation of each component of the initiative is designed to yield results for broader field development.
CONTACT INFOrmation
Kenneth Forman, PhD
Assistant Director
Educational Leadership Program
kenneth.forman@stonybrook.edu
PARTICIPATING RESEARCHERS
Hazel M. Carter, PhD
Dr. Carter was recognized by the City University of New York as one of the recipients of Major Institutional Grants for Public Service awards and received the Trinidad and Tobago Heritage award from the New York City Council, has been cited by the United States Congress for her work in community engagement. She is a Board member of the American Foundation of the University of the West Indies, New Alternatives for Children, Global Women’s Fund, the International Consortium of Caribbean Professionals, and the Metropolitan Council of Educational Administration Programs. Dr. Carter received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Higher Education Administration from New York University. She holds a Master of Science degree in Non-Profit Management from the New School University; a Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Social Sciences, both from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.
Catherine DiMartino, PhD
Dr. Catherine DiMartino is an associate professor at St. John’s University. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from Haverford College, an M.A. in Social Studies Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from New York University. Prior to joining the St. John’s community, she taught middle and high school social studies in New York City, had a fellowship at the Educational Testing Service, conducted research for the RAND Corporation, and, most recently, was an assistant professor at Hofstra University. Her current research focuses on the politics of school choice, the implications of marketization and privatization for school leaders and the role of public-private partnerships in public education. Dr. DiMartino’s work has appeared in several journals including the American Journal of Education and Educational Policy.
Kenneth Forman, PhD
Dr. Forman has served as middle school assistant principal, director of state and federal programs, director of curriculum and instruction, principal, and executive assistant to the superintendent in NYC and Long Island public schools. He is currently the assistant director of Educational Leadership Program at Stony Brook University. He is also the author of the texts: Diving into Leadership, Preparing for Educational Leadership 4th Edition, Diving into Data, Managing Social Science Research Through Publicly Accessible Data, School Building Leader and School District Leader TestPrep Virtual Classroom and numerous articles. He also serves an educational consultant and an advisor to a New York State Regent.
Stephen Kotok, PhD
Stephen Kotok is an associate professor in the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership at St. John’s University in New York City. He received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in Education Theory and Policy. His research focuses on the opportunity gap for low-income and minoritized PK-12 students and how school context affects these disparities. Specifically, Kotok examines equity-based school improvement strategies related to school climate and detracking as well as policy-level issues such as school choice and segregation. Prior to joining St. John’s University, Kotok was a member of the administrative team at Hope Academy Charter School in Asbury Park, NJ, and was a social studies teacher with the School District of Philadelphia.
Margaret Terry Orr, PhD
Margaret Orr is Professor at Fordham University and EdD program director and Chair of its Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy. She has researched and published widely on leadership preparation approaches, the influence of preparation on leader practice and school and district reform initiatives. Her current research focuses on rigorous performance assessment research and development in educational leadership, nationally and internationally; and developing inquiry-oriented educational leadership using equity-focused improvement science to more effectively address intractable problems in schools and other educating institutions.
Eustace G. Thompson, PhD
Eustace G. Thompson is a professor in the department of Special Programs in Education at Hofstra University. He served as the past Chair of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Technology and Director of the Educational & Policy Leadership Ed.D. program. He is currently the Graduate Director of the Certification of Advanced Studies program in Educational Leadership. He was formerly the Deputy Superintendent of the Uniondale Public Schools, located on Long Island, New York. He has 37 years of experience in urban and suburban public schools settings in the roles of teacher, principal and curriculum assistant superintendent. Dr. Thompson‘s research interests include instructional leadership in urban and suburban areas, and structural barriers to African American students’ academic success. His publications appear in several journals including Planning and Changing, Journal for Leadership and Instruction, and Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.