2015-16 Leadership Academy Cohort 2

Lindy Buch, Early Childhood Education Consultant Lindy retired in May 2014 after nearly 20 years as an early childhood specialist with the Michigan Department of Education. During that time, she served as director of early childhood education and family services, as well as the supervisor of school accountability and curriculum. Her specific responsibilities included overseeing the expansion and evaluation of the state prekindergarten program, early childhood special education, early intervention, parenting, family education and family literacy programs, the kindergarten entry assessment, early literacy, and out-of-school time programs K-12, as well as a number of state curriculum and accountability projects. Prior to joining the Department, Lindy served in higher education and as a preschool general and special education teacher and administrator. Lindy has been a leader of professional organizations throughout her career. Education:

• Ph.D., Wayne State University, Curriculum and Instruction (Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education); minor in Developmental Psychology
• M.A., University of Michigan, Early Childhood Education
• B.A., University of Michigan, English

Jim Squires, Senior Research Fellow (National Institute for Early Education)/Senior TA Fellow (Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes) Jim conducts research on national and state early education policy and practices, focusing on prekindergarten through third grade, and provides technical assistance to state leaders. He was formerly the early childhood programs coordinator at the Vermont Department of Education and past president of the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education. Jim has taught and directed programs in child care, Head Start, public schools, migrant education, and university lab schools, and served as adjunct faculty at the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and Community College of Vermont. Education:

• Ph.D., Child Development and Public Policy, The Union Institute
• M.S., Child and Family Development. University of Georgia
• B.A., Psychology, Lake Forest College

Jim Lesko, Project Manager, Preschool Development Grants Program (PDG); AEM Corporation. Jim works as a project manager and TA Expert for federal technical assistance contracts within the Education Division, AEM Corporation including PDG, RTT-Early Learning Challenge TA and Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy.  Prior to joining AEM, Jim was the director, early development and learning office in the Delaware Department of Education.  His specific responsibilities included overseeing the state prekindergarten program, early childhood special education, home visiting, professional development office, Head Start Collaboration, and quality rating and improvement program.  In addition to his TA and SEA work, Jim is involved in providing professional development to a cohort of European and Middle Eastern countries on the topic of inclusion of children with disabilities.  Education:

• Ed.D., University of Delaware, Educational Leadership and Policy
• M.Ed., University of Washington, Early Childhood Special Education
• B.A., William Paterson University, Elementary and Special Education

NOVEMBER MEETING

• FINAL AGENDA – First Leadership Academy Session, Washington, DC, November 2-4, 2015
  • A Word About Journaling
  • CEELO Leadership Academy Group Norms and Ground-rules
  • Job-Embedded Project Framework
  • Preparation – Homework

FEBRUARY MEETING

• FINAL AGENDA – Second Leadership Academy Session, Washington, DC, February 9-11, 2016
  • Systems Thinking Meeting Workbook
  • Habits of a Systems Thinker
  • Iceberg – (with lines)
  • Waters Foundation – WebED – Systems Thinking Resources and Modules

MAY-JUNE MEETING

• Final Expanded Agenda – June 1, 2016 Communications Session
  • Slides – Heidi Guarino, Education First, Communicating Up, Down and Out into the Field
  • Burning Issues Worksheet – What’s Keeping You Up at Night?
  • Getting Started – A Guide to ESSA Stakeholder Outreach

AUGUST MEETING

• AGENDA – Fourth Leadership Academy Session, Washington, DC, August 2-4, 2016
• Job Embedded Projects – Presentations from the Fellows
  • Anna Severens – NV
  • Bryan Stokes – IL
  • Debbykay Peterson – MN
  • Lauren Zybszinski – AZ
  • Lisa Wasacz – MI
  • Tracy Jost – MD
  • Tracye Strichik – AL
• Maurice Sykes – Courage to Lead – Courage to Teach

What the Academy Fellows are reading:

• Early Childhood Education for a New Era: Leading for Our Profession, by Stacie G. Goffin
• Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky
• Trying Hard is Not Good Enough; How to Produce Measurable Improvements for Customers and Commnities, by Mark Friedman
• Theory of Aligned Contributions: An Emerging Theory of Change Primer, by Jolie Pillsbury
• Change Leadership: Innovation in State Education Agencies, by Sam Redding
• Creating the Container to Achieve Results: A Guide for Leaders, Teams, Project Managers, and More, by Patton Stephens
• Results Based Facilitation: Moving from Talk to Action – Meetings that Matter, by Jolie Pillsbury
• Communications and Engagement Workbook, by Romanita Matta-Barrera