By STEPHEN BARTLETT
Staff Writer
June 22, 2008 04:00 am
—
PLATTSBURGH -- Teaching isn't Heather LaVigne's job; it's her life.
But she's often wondered if administration might be a good fit. So she spent a year learning about the job from professionals in the field, thanks to a reinvented program at Plattsburgh State.
"It is a way to get people who might be interested to understand what it is like to be an administrator," said LaVigne, a fourth-grade teacher for Malone Central School.
The Plattsburgh State program GOAL (Grow Our Administrators Locally) finished its first year after a slight hiatus. University officials expect to offer it every other year.
FILLING A NEED
"GOAL is a successful attempt to work with area BOCES to tap into people out in the classroom who might have an interest in becoming school administrators but are not 100-percent sure," said Steve Black, director of Plattsburgh State's Educational Leadership Program.
The program begins anew at a crucial time, as the pool of administrators shrinks due to retirements, largely by baby boomers. Those retirements, thus far, have not been matched by people entering the school-administrator ranks.
GOAL started as a successful pilot project in 2003. But after its first run, the people involved moved on to other projects.
"The second year I was here, two local district superintendents of BOCES asked if we might do it again because of the current and future predicted shortage of school administrators," said Dr. David Hill, dean of Education, Health and Human Services at Plattsburgh State.
EXPLORATION
University officials thought it was a good idea, though they went about it a little differently this time, turning what had been a graduate-course format into an exploration of school administration.
Public-school administrators were called upon to serve on the planning committee and took the lead in designing the program.
"Every single class is taught by a retired or current school administrator," Black said. "They know best what new administrators need to know, because they are in the field, not in ivory towers."
"We really felt we needed something that set experiences over a year's time to provide teachers with a good idea of what school administrators do," Hill added.
"It is primarily for teachers who are recommended for the program by their school-building principals. And when they are done, they make the decision whether or not they want to continue in the school-administration program."
A total of seven people from schools such as Tupper Lake, Malone and Moriah participated in the 2007-08 program, which will be offered every other year.
"I am always a proponent of career exploration," Hill said. "I think it was successful, because some of the participants were fired up about continuing to become school administrators, and others said it is not for me right now. This enables people to make informed decisions."
FABULOUS'
LaVigne started out as preschool teacher, also working as a substitute and at a parochial school. She's been at Malone for five years now.
She's always been interested in administration and enrolled in the GOAL program after being encouraged by her own administrator.
She found the GOAL program convenient and filled with information and experiences that offer a better understanding of what it is to be an administrator.
"It was fabulous, and all year long I didn't feel like I was taking a course."
She plans to eventually obtain her administration certificate.
"I am at a point right now in my life where I don't want to be an administrator, but I always have that possibility in the future."
sbartlett@pressrepublican.com
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.