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FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT: Susie P. Gonzalez
Jan. 5, 2007
Meadows Foundation Grant to Boost Trinity University’s Center for Area School Principals
SAN ANTONIO – Just like teachers in the classroom, school principals get burned out, too. To replace job frustrations and fatigue with inspirational and motivational stories of learning leadership and best practices, Trinity University’s department of education is expanding its Principals’ Center with the help of a $225,000 grant from the Meadows Foundation of Dallas.
Launched in December 2003, the Principals’ Center is envisioned as a resource for principals and assistant principals who want to increase their effectiveness as instructional leaders, develop management competencies necessary to build complex organizations, reflect on and evaluate their practice, and plan new initiatives, said Paul Kelleher, Murchison Professor of Education and chair of Trinity’s education department.
“Within a half-hour’s drive from the Trinity campus, there are 600 schools,” Kelleher said. “There is no institution in the (San Antonio) area for staff development for them.” And again, just like teachers, principals are required to earn continuing education credits on a regular basis. The turnover rate for principals is at an all-time high, he added, because of the large numbers of principals who are either reaching retirement age or who leave because they are exhausted and overwhelmed.
Kelleher plans to develop several “strands” of programming to help principals:
n A speaker series,
n Monthly sharing sessions,
n Training for people to become coaches for principals,
n A reflective practice model, and
n A connection with the National School Leadership Network.
Kelleher said the Meadows grant, which went into effect in December, will enable Trinity to hire a director for the Principals’ Center and implement programs that have been planned or are under way already.
In addition to Kelleher, the other Trinity faculty member who will help establish and guide the Principals’ center is Thomas J. Sergiovanni, the Radford Distinguished Professor of Education, a noted educator, author, and lecturer.
The Dallas-based Meadows Foundation seeks “to (address) basic human needs by working toward the elimination of ignorance, hopelessness and suffering, protecting the environment, providing cultural enrichment, encouraging excellence, and promoting understanding and cooperation among people.”
Trinity’s education department previously received a $225,000 grant from the Meadows Foundation to implement programs for professional development of San Antonio-area teachers.
For more
information about the grant or the Principals’ Center, contact the
education department at
210-999-7501.
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© 2006 Trinity University