Professional Development:
Professional development refers to continuous learning opportunities available to teachers, and other education personnel, through their schools and districts. Effective professional development is crucial to school success and teacher satisfaction.
Strategic Planning
If educational leaders are to become agents of change to help our schools meet the needs of an ever increasingly demanding society, they must begin to better understand the process of planning for change. Edie L. Holcomb (2001) provides multiple resources for the leader, no matter what capacity, that enable one to effortlessly move between models that best fit the questions that are encompassed in changing educational organizations. Holcomb (2001) provides five questions to help the leader have a greater affect on change: 1.) Where are we now, 2.) Where do we want to go, 3.) How will we get there, 4.) How will we know we are (getting) there, and 5.) How will we sustain focus and momentum? Within these five domains of questions, Holcomb embeds various models that provide a toolbox for the leader to access and use effortlessly as they become change agents for their organization.
Educational Law
In this era of high-stakes standardized testing, educational leaders must possess many skills in order to effectively operate a high quality educational organization that encounters change daily. Administrators need skills and knowledge in the areas of curriculum, physical plant management, budget, finance, personnel management, legal issues, and daily decision making concerning many issues if they are to survive and help their schools reach the noble mission of educating children to grow and function together in a global society as productive citizens (Daresh, 2002).
Disproportionality in Education
"Disproportionality is the over or underrepresentation of a given population group often defined by racial and ethnic backgrounds, but also defined by socioeconomic status, national origin, English proficiency, gender, and sexual orientation in a specific population category" (EMSTAC:www.emstac.org).