Appalachian State University has been selected to partner with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) for the Equity-Centered Pipeline Initiative through the Wallace Foundation.
This is a five-year, $102 million endeavor that supports eight large, high-needs districts to build evidence-based principal pipelines with the goal of developing principals who can advance each district’s own vision of equity.
The initiative is based on strong evidence about the importance of principals and the benefits of principal pipelines, while addressing a gap in understanding on a topic of field interest. Research demonstrates that effective principals have a strong, positive impact on students and schools, making successful investments in principals highly cost-effective.
“We are excited to partner with WS/FCS schools on this initiative,” said Dr. Melba Spooner, Dean of App State’s Reich College of Education. “Strong principal pipelines benefit not only the schools, their districts, and their students, but the higher education institutions as well through informed practice and a network of support.”
District Partnership Team
Each district partnership team will receive grants totaling $8.2 million over the five-year period, contingent on successful renewal each year. The work, which will begin in Fall 2021, will be led locally by each district in partnership with local community organizations, two university leader preparation programs and the state education agency. App State, along with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the North Carolina Department of Education, make up the district partnership team for WS/FCS. Together the team will:
- Develop and sustain deep partnerships with each other
- Engage in visioning and strategic planning
- Define “equity” and “equity-centered leaders” – both developed for the local context
- Design a comprehensive, aligned principal pipeline that translates the vision into reality
- Provide mentoring and training for current principals and assistant principals
- Engage in continuous improvement
Each district in the initiative was chosen as a result of a rigorous, competitive selection process. The districts represent different states and locales from across the country. The seven other districts included in this year’s Pipeline Initiative are Baltimore City Public Schools, Maryland, Columbus City Schools, Ohio, District of Columbia Public Schools, Fresno Unified School District, California, Jefferson County Public Schools, Kentucky, Portland Public Schools, Oregan, and the San Antonio Independent School District, Texas.
About the School Administration Program
App State’s Reich College of Education houses the school administration program, which includes three opportunities:
- Master of School Administration degree,
- the School Leadership Graduate Certificate, and
- the Education Specialist in Educational Administration (EdS) degree.
The school administration program faculty will be working closely with district leaders in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to provide coursework, resources, and training which will support the creation of an equity-centered leadership pipeline.
“We believe our partnership will positively impact the students in the district and will also add to the body of knowledge about effective leader preparation,” added Dr. Julie Hasson, assistant professor and program director.
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