Educational Leadership
news Issue 3 | Spring 2015
Leading Courageously for Racial Equity
Pictured left to right, top to bottom: Bernadeia Johnson, Former Superintendent Minneapolis Public Schools Stephen West, Superintendent Winona Area Public Schools Willie Jet, Superintendent St. Cloud Area Schools Michael Muñoz, Superintendent Rochester Public Schools Valeria Silva, Superintendent St. Paul Public Schools Anton Treuer, keynote speaker
Photo by Dan Moen
With a commitment to preparing leaders who disrupt the predictable achievement trajectory for children of color in Minnesota schools, the Department of Educational Leadership held its second annual conference: “Leading Courageously for Racial Equity.” Panels, presentations and performances helped stimulate honest discussions on a topic many others avoid. Presenters openly shared with participants the good, the bad and the ugly truths about their personal and district-wide journeys toward racial equity. Attendees learned about the challenges and were inspired by the successful strategies used to implement real change. The day concluded with featured keynote speaker Anton Treuer’s captivating presentation, “Facing Race Unconquered: Lessons from Native America.” His messages focused on identity, values, tribal citizenship and cultural revitalization of Native Americans. Treuer provided the audience with both a historical and personal perspective of the Ojibwe Indian nation. Raised in and around the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota, Treuer earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Minnesota. Widely recognized as one of the most prolific scholars of Ojibwe, Treuer has published extensively in linguistics and Ojibwe language; worked closely with the Ojibwe language immersion efforts underway in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario; and written 13 books. Since 2000, Treuer has served as professor and Executive Director of the American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University.
Check Out Our 2014–2015 Educational Leadership
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.
Maria Baxter-Nuamah
Teri Preisler
Through the Looking Glass: Barriers and Coping Mechanisms Encountered by African American Women Presidents at Predominately White Institutions
Early Career Principal Development: A qualitative case study of Principals’ Perceptions of Participation in the Institute of Engaged Principal Leadership
For Baxter-Nuamah, earning a doctorate was a bucket-list achievement. A self-described “seasoned” individual, she feels compelled to lead. Currently working as the director of diversity outreach at Minnesota State Mankato, she hopes to soon share her knowledge and her experience and work as a dean of students or in academic affairs.
Kelly Killorn Literacy Strategies Successfully Implemented by Secondary Social Studies Teachers With 16 years experience teaching reading skills and strategies to all ages, Killorn was driven to explore which literacy strategies work well for delivering social studies content. Among other information, her study found that the most frequently used comprehension instruction methods include Question Answering and Collaborative Learning and Discussion and the vocabulary instruction methods most frequently used Capacity Methods and Implicit Instruction.
In her 29th year in education, Preisler currently serves as the superintendent of Tri-City United School District. She is passionate about enhancing the growth and development of all learners, youth as well as adults, and is driven by her strong belief that all students can learn at high levels.
Melissa Siebke In Their Own Words: Assessing the Needs of Underprepared College Students in a Summer Bridge Program at a Community College in Southern Minnesota Multi-lingual, Siebke teaches Spanish, French, and English at Riverland Community College in Southern Minnesota. She loves to explore languages and cultures while reading and traveling. When not traveling, Siebke volunteers with animals.
Now Pending:
Experiential Learning Leadership Certificate
Poised to meet emerging needs in education, the Department of Educational Leadership at Minnesota State University, Mankato hopes to offer a new Experiential Learning Leadership Certificate soon. Both the U.S. Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education have identified work-based learning as an area of critical shortage in secondary education. Skills like critical thinking, problem solving and creativity are crucial for the development of a skilled workforce. Specifically designed to address this shortage, the 9-credit certificate program will be open to graduate students who are licensed teachers. The certificate program will focus on educational leadership and experiential education leadership and prepare leaders to further develop school-to-work competencies for secondary students. Certificate holders will be prepared to help classroom teachers incorporate project-based learning, establish methods to measure student skill achievement, and implement strategies to connect schools and community. In addition, courses have been carefully designed to address systemic racial equity issues through proven leadership of project-based learning processes. Timothy Berry, assistant professor of educational leadership, said, “By providing the certificate, we can offer school districts help in meeting an increasingly critical need: leadership with skills that coalesce around school-to-
work relationships for students, grounded in 21st century processes and cultural awareness.� Coursework includes Teaching Methods for Experiential Learning, Project-Based Learning, and either Multicultural Leadership OR Equity in Education. Pending approval from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, the certificate will be offered at both Edina and Mankato locations and new students will be accepted for the 2015 Fall Semester.
For more information about the Experiential Learning Leadership Certificate, contact either Timothy Berry at tim.berry@mnsu.edu, 507-389-1260 or Scott Wurdinger at scott.wurdinger@ mnsu.edu, 507-389-2919.
Institute for Courageous Principal Leadership The national trend of steady and unchanged racial discrepancy in our schools is sobering. 2014 Minnesota Department of Education data reveals that black students’ achievement rates are consistently about 30 percent lower than white students’ in both math and reading. The Institute for Courageous Principal Leadership at Minnesota State Mankato is making a difference toward changing the predictable achievement trajectory for children of color.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41qgQKcu0hg
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).