Lyndsay Britt of Cohort IV is currently completing her principal residency at Ahoskie Elementary School, where Kim Scott of Cohort I is an Assistant Principal. The school went through a dramatic aesthetic transformation in preparation for the start of the school year. They hosted a reveal night on Tuesday, August 18th to showcase the school to the community. Members of the NELA team along with representatives from Chowan University and other organizations were present. Both NELA fellows attended the Ron Clark Conference in January of 2014. The school transformations were Ron Clark-inspired! Ahoskie Elementary School students are sure to be filled with excitement about their updated school!
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The NELA 2.0 grant specifies that fellows participate in a full-time summer community internship. The internship focuses on the community that surrounds the fellow's school. They also write grant proposals to receive funding, making a connection between the community and the school. Cohort IV Fellow, Crystal Davis, served at Franklin County Cooperative Extension in Louisburg, NC for the internship. Photos from her internship can be found below. For more information about Franklin County Cooperative extension, visit their website. NELA fellows from all Cohorts along with school leaders in the Northeast were invited to a professional development focused on School Culture and led by Dr. Kent Peterson. The PD started with a one-day session discussing school culture. On the second day, participants ventured in the community and learned about local business culture. Keith Parker, Cohort IV fellow, held a leadership conference at his school. Keith is currently serving as a United States History teacher at SouthWest Edgecombe High School while he is a student in the Northeast Leadership Academy. The conference he hosted was led by his leadership students who trained others in Covey's Seven Habits and the Myers-Briggs personality indicator. FarmVille High School brought 40 AVID students to the event. Students were assembled into groups of 6 and were facilitated by 3 to 4 SouthWest Edgecombe students. The event encouraged collaboration between students from the two schools. "What our students need are opportunities to show leadership - not more standardized tests. I have found that when you allow a kid an opportunity to be a leader, he/she will surpass your expectations. The SouthWest Leadership Academy was proud to host Farmville Central for a day of leadership training. It is our hope that they will carry these skills back to their school and use them to do something great for the school and community." - Keith Parker, NELA Cohort IV Fellow
"Our student leadership academy is an amazing part of what makes our community of students great. This is about providing opportunities for our students that exist beyond the classroom. It provides our students with networking and critical thinking challenges that they will face beyond post-secondary education. My goal is for our students to realize their inner-potential. The student leadership academy provides them with that opportunity". - Marc Whichard, Principal of SouthWest Edgecombe High School NELA fellows attended the NOKid Hungry Conference in Chapel Hill, NC. Keynote speakers included Dr. Mike Steiner, Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at UNC Heath Care, and Duke Storen, Senior Director at Share Our Strength. NC non-profit organizations were also present including PORCH, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, and Grocers on Wheels. The photo below is of the NELA fellows, NELA Associate Director Dr. Lesley Wirt, NELA Graduate Assistant Leelynn Pinion, and Gerald Owens of WRAL. Mr. Owens was the emcee during the 2014 Breakfast Challenge Awards Ceremony.
Cohort IV fellows visited A.B. Combs Elementary School. The school uses Covey's Seven Habits to promote student leadership. Fellows and NELA Team members were greeted at the entrance of the school by students dressed to represent different countries. We watched a student-led presentation and student-led choir before being led around the school by student-tour guides . Student leadership was very apparent at A.B. Combs! "This visit was amazing. Ms. Summers has an extraordinarily almost magical way of cultivating leadership skills from the students in her school. Spending the day with her was like apprenticing a master craftsman. One is left with a reflective pause that produces a realization that a successful leader is also an inspiring figure. Ms. Summers is just those things." - Keith Parker, Cohort IV Fellow
Cohort IV fellows assisted with Candidate Assessment Day. Applicants of the Master of School Administration Program at NC State and applicants of the Northeast Leadership Academy (Cohort V) participate in in-depth experiential exercises at Candidate Assessment Day. Cohort IV fellows assisted with filming in the video booths, interviewing candidates, and many other tasks. To learn more about Candidate Assessment Day at NC State, view the video below.
Cohort IV and some fellows from previous cohorts were accompanied by Dr. Wirt, Dr. Riddick, Jennifer LaGarde, and Leelynn on the trip to Atlanta, GA. On Friday evening, busloads of educators were greeted by Ron Clark and his enthusiastic students and teachers. Friday night events included a school tour of RCA and its new facility and a surprise party! NELA fellows and staff were impressed by the student tour-guides. Saturday consisted of valuable workshops, including a lesson by Ron. NELA fellows put on their best tacky outfits for the Prom on Saturday Night! On Sunday, we said goodbye to RCA, heard a special message from Kim Bearden and other instructors, and had the opportunity to ask questions. It was an awesome and inspiring trip! Visit http://www.ronclarkacademy.com/ to learn more about the Ron Clark Academy. "The ultimate education experience. Totally transformed my thinking about school! School should be fun, exciting, but also rigorous." - Lyndsay Britt, NELA Cohort IV fellow
"A North Carolina State University program to train leaders for rural schools in northeastern North Carolina was honored Nov. 20 with a national award for effectiveness – one of only two programs to receive the distinction. The Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA) is a rigorous two-year program that prepares principals and assistant principals to work as turnaround specialists in 14 high-need districts in northeastern North Carolina. The University Council for Educational Administration will recognize NELA with an Exemplary Educational Leadership Program Award during an event in Washington, D.C. News of the award came just days after NELA received an additional $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education through its Turnaround School Leaders Program. NELA also received a $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2013 to expand its reach. “NC State is committed to serving the needs of North Carolina’s rural schools, which educate almost half of the state’s students,” says NC State education professor Bonnie Fusarelli, who directs the program. “NELA is based on research that demonstrates how school leaders retain effective teachers and create a school culture of achievement.” To prepare for the challenge of leading schools with limited access to resources and training, NELA graduates complete a yearlong internship and work with a community agency. They earn a master’s degree in school administration and commit to take a leadership position in one of the participating counties for three years after completing the program. Training includes a summer institute and mentoring from executive coaches. The first-year placement rate for NELA is more than twice the national average, Fusarelli says. NELA, which began in 2010, serves the following districts: Bertie, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Nash-Rocky Mount, Northampton, Roanoke Rapids, Vance, Warren, Washington and Weldon City. For more information about NELA, visit: go.ncsu.edu/nela2.0." |
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AuthorThis blog is managed by Leelynn Pinion. Questions about the blog can be sent to [email protected]. For more information, please visit go.ncsu.edu/nela2.0 or go.ncsu.edu/nela-dst. Thank you for visiting! |