Strong, effective school leadership has been identified as a critical component of successful pre-K to grade 12 schools. However, simple capability in management is not enough to turn around a struggling school; great leaders need to continuously focus on the development of their own character.
Now Buffalo State incorporates FranklinCovey’s principle-based leadership development process into the mandated coursework leading to a recommendation for New York State certification in school building and school district leadership. It is anticipated that the addition of the Covey focus on integrity, trustworthiness, and personal effectiveness will help Buffalo State graduate school leaders who are able to apply these frameworks and tools to engage others to successfully achieve the goals of their schools and the school districts. Part of the training will allow candidates to gain certification to transform their schools through “The Leader in Me” framework.
“Through our Professional Development School Consortium, we discovered that people preparing to become building and school district leaders want more than leadership training,” said Wendy Paterson, dean of the School of Education. “Today’s school principals seek answers to some of the most persistent and complex problems preventing children from succeeding, parents from fully participating in their children’s education, and teachers from taking responsibility for student learning.” The Professional Development School Consortium, or PDS, is Buffalo State’s school/university partnership involving more than 45 local schools that provide the college's students with clinically rich experiences, and in-service teachers and their schools with professional development and targeted research.
Materials from FranklinCovey’s education solution are embedded in the coursework that leads to Buffalo State’s advanced certificate in education leadership. “Those who pursue post-master’s certification in education leadership can also earn certification from FranklinCovey,” said Paterson. The FranklinCovey components include several modules designed to develop leadership traits independent of one’s organization. Perhaps the most well-known of the FranklinCovey materials is the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” In their coursework, participants also study modules in “Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results;” “Four Imperatives of Great Leaders;” “Inspiring Trust;” and “The Leader in Me,” the school-based material that has garnered great enthusiasm in local schools in West Seneca, Depew, and Buffalo.
“The Covey organization has earned many accolades for the success of its ‘Lead Myself, Lead My Team, and Lead the Organization’ system of personal empowerment,” said Paterson. “The program seeks to develop not just competence but the character of the leader him or herself.” The program shows participants how to create a culture of trust; examine and define one’s personal mission and values; and develop self-awareness in order to lead effective teams with compassion. “As a result, the effective leader learns how to master complex systems, plan strategically within the constraints of team talents, and develop action-oriented, accountable, and sustainably effective organizations,” said Paterson. “This model, so well proven in highly successful businesses has already proven effective in our schools. It may be a key element in an effective curriculum to prepare real leaders for the myriad challenges of today’s schools.”
