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Educational Leadership

NEWS ISSUE 5 | SPRING 2016

NEW! RACIAL EQUITY SCHOLARSHIPS The Department of Educational Leadership established the Leading Courageously for Racial Equity Conference in 2013. Due to the success of the conference, and in support of our mission, the Department of Educational Leadership has initiated an annual series of $1000 scholarships to award outstanding graduate students of color who demonstrate great promise for being leaders in racial equity work. Students must be enrolled in a master’s, specialist or doctorate degree program. The first five scholarships were awarded at the third annual Leading Courageously for Racial Equity Conference, April 21, 2016, to the following students:

Arslan Aziz, Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership Principal License Instructional Coach at Brooklyn Center Area Schools

Shonita Harper, Masters in Educational Leadership 2nd grade teaching fellow at Franklin Elementary Mankato Public Schools

Lawrence Coleman, Specialist in Educational Leadership Cooper High School Robbinsdale Area Schools

Quennel Cooper, Doctorate in Educational Leadership Program Assistant Principal, Hilltop Elementary Inver Grove Heights Area Schools

“I am honored to have received the award and appreciate the support and guidance from my professors and advisors at Minnesota State Mankato. After I complete the program, I look forward to using my education and experience in a leadership position.” ~Arslan Aziz

Tom Luu, Specialist in Educational Leadership School of Engineering and Arts, Robbinsdale Area Schools

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DOCTORAL GRADUATES The Educational Leadership Doctoral Program trains and supports students as they become courageous leaders and applied researchers. Extending beyond the traditional, our graduates are culturally relevant and responsive leaders who are committed to changing the leadership status quo. Here is a peek at this year’s graduates and what they have been studying. Jeff Judge Spirituality in Higher Education: A Narrative Analysis of Its Use by MnSCU Leaders as a Tool for Decision-Making

With 28 years of experience in education, Judge still finds joy in the mission of the community college. As dean of the Humanities division at Normandale Community College, he helps provide an open door for students of all backgrounds. “Minnesota State Mankato’s cohort model was the best pathway I could have chosen to achieve my personal goal of earning a doctorate,” said Judge.

Jay Meiners A Phenomenological Study of Professional and Practical Changes Experienced by Teachers Involved with Action Research in a Learning Community Master’s Program After 15 years as a high school science teacher, Meiners earned a master’s degree, which changed the trajectory of his career. Soon, he was also teaching at Southwest Minnesota State University. Meiners said, “My passion is finding the right combination of methods to improve our master’s degree programs for teachers, ultimately placing the best teachers in our classrooms.”

Kayla Westra Faculty and Student Perceptions of Effective Online Learning Environments at a Two-Year College

Wayne Whitmore Student Perceptions of Academic Advising at Two-Year Colleges

Westra pursued her doctorate to increase her knowledge of higher education, both policy and practice. With an undergraduate degree in English from Minnesota State Mankato and a master’s degree in English from Utah State University, Westra has been a lifelong learner who is passionate about students and their success. She currently serves as the Dean of Technology and Distance Learning at Minnesota West Community & Technical College.

As a faculty member at a community college for a decade, Whitmore pursued a doctorate at Minnesota State Mankato to shift his career. “I have a passion for higher education and the access to quality higher education by all who wish to pursue that goal,” he said. Whitmore plans to continue to share his passion as an administrator or faculty member at the university level.

BIGGER AND BETTER:

RECAP OF THE THIRD ANNUAL LEADING COURAGEOUSLY FOR RACIAL EQUITY CONFERENCE

We were thrilled to have two keynote addresses at our third annual Leading Courageously for Racial Equity Conference held on April 21 at 7700 France Avenue in Edina, Minn. The day began with Nekima Levy Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of NAACP and a University of St. Thomas School of Law professor. She delivered her address, “Re-imagining Public Education: The time for racial equity is now” to 150 Twin Cities K-12 teachers, principals and administrators. Following Levy Pounds’ keynote, four breakout sessions were held: Can We Get a Win-Win? The case for restoring relationships: Bernadeia Johnson, former superintendent, Minneapolis, independent consultant; and Natalie Rasmussen, assistant principal, North High School, Minneapolis Leadership for our Somali Students: Abdikadir Ibrahim, community integrations manager, Government Market Solutions of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MN Courageous Leadership: It’s a Personal Journey: Ken Essay, assistant principal at Dakota Meadows Middle School, Mankato, Minn.; and Akram Osman, special education teacher at Rosa Parks Elementary and head girls’ soccer coach at Mankato East High School. Creating a School Culture of Racial Equity: St. Paul Public School District staff: Chreese Jones, principal, The Heights Elementary; Kirk Morris, principal, Benjamin E. Mays Elementary; Heidi George, principal, Four Seasons A+ Elementary; and Scott Masini, principal, Bruce Vento Elementary. Another exciting addition to the conference was the awarding of five graduate scholarships from conference proceeds. Scholarships of $1,000 were awarded to students of color registered for programs in the Department of Educational Leadership. The conference concluded with a closing keynote by Yvette Jackson, CEO of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education and a visiting lecturer at Harvard University. Jackson discussed her best-selling book, The Pedagogy of Confidence, and the integrated process she developed to motivate and elicit potential in underachievers. The Leading Courageously for Racial Equity Conference for educators was created to intentionally affect the achievement gap and students of color through courageous conversations about race and educational equity. Please plan to join us next year for our fourth annual Leading Courageously for Racial Equity Conference, Thursday, April 14, 2017 at Minnesota State Mankato at Edina, 7700 France Avenue North, Edina, Minn.

RESEARCH,

RESEARCH: RESULTS OF OUR DOCTORATE SURVEY The doctoral program in the Department of Educational Leadership has graduated 23 doctors of educational leadership since the founding of the program in 2009. In March 2016, the department surveyed these 23 graduates plus three current doctoral students who successfully defended their dissertations this spring. The dual purpose of the survey was to evaluate the effectiveness of the doctoral program toward academic success along with professional What motivated you to pursue advancement. A total of 21 individuals (81%) responded to the survey (note that not all your degree? individuals responded to all survey items). The charts below reflect actual number of Professional respondents. 16 Advancment

Career Change

What motivated you to pursue your degree? Professional Advancment

Seeking New Learning

Career Change

Other

Seeking New Learning

4 0

Other

4 0

Do you attribute your professional advancement to your degree program? No 1

Yes 12

Employment Increase

Decrease

Prior to Degree (n=21)

Current (n=20)

Higher Education

K-12 Schools

6 12

Other 4 Other 4 Consultant, Local and National Non-Profit, Student Non-Profit, Educational Development Committee

Prior Position (n=21)

Current Position (n=20)

Adjunct Professor

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Dean 1 Dean 2 High Ed Admin

High Ed Admin

Superintendent 1

Superintendent 3

District Office Admin

Principal 2

Principal 0

Assistant Principal

Teacher 8 Teacher 3

ANNOUNCING A NEW MISSION STATEMENT The Department of Educational Leadership revised its mission statement to better reflect the work of the department. “Over the past few years, faculty in the Department of Educational Leadership has fully engaged in learning, leading and reflecting on our capacity to develop racial equity leaders. As a result, our work has evolved and we needed a new mission statement to reflect our leadership work,” said Candace Raskin, department chair. “In addition to keeping us focused in our commitment to develop racial equity leaders for K-12 schools, the new mission statement exemplifies why we exist today and what we are doing to pursue our vision of the future.” The mission of the Department of Educational Leadership is dedicated to the study of the intersectionality between race, cultural responsiveness and social justice. We prepare racially/ethically conscious leaders who are resolute in serving ALL learners in a broad spectrum of educational settings. The department is committed to developing educators with strong skills in racial equity leadership, instructional leadership and experiential learning. We seek to advance the capacity of leaders who will eliminate predictable racial disparities through project-based learning and learner-centered programming in a Master of Science, Specialist and Doctorate graduate degree.

A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System and an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the College of Education at 507-389-5445 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY).