Lew Smith – Fordham Now

GSE Awards Recognize Exemplary Public Schools

Janet Sassi — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:10:15 +0000

Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education (GSE) awarded scholarships and other honors to six public schools that dramatically improved performance despite difficult odds, at the GSE’s 8th annual National School Change Awards ceremony, on July 16 at the Lincoln Center campus.

Lew Smith, Ph.D., director of the awards, also announced that that the Panasonic Corporation will begin sponsoring and funding the GSE’s National School Change Awards, beginning in July 2007. The awards will now be known as the Panasonic National School Change Awards, and will be managed jointly by Fordham and the Panasonic Foundation. The 2008 Panasonic National School Change Award will be made possible by a $75,000 grant from Panasonic North America.

“You have taken teaching and learning to a new level in your communities, with good teaching and learning brought to scale—just what this country needs,” said Ray Simon, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, at the awards ceremony. “It is unfortunate that, for too many children, it is still luck of the draw whether or not they get a good teacher.”

The ceremony recognized the staff of exemplary schools in four states, including the Anna F. Booth Elementary School, in Irvington Ala., where more than 70 per cent of the Booth school’s students were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. Winning schools received a $5,000 grant, subsidized participation at the National Principals Leadership Institute, and were invited to participate in a national research project on school change. The 2007 winners were chosen from a national pool of 127 schools—the largest application pool in the award’s eight-year history.

As Smith presented each school principal with an award, the audience of fellow educators offered a standing ovation.

“These schools brought themselves up from schools that were failing students, to exemplary schools,” Smith said. “Nobody did it for them, they did it themselves.”

Since the program’s inception, 601 schools from 44 states have been nominated. Each year, a distinguished panel of judges selects six award winners.

In addition to the Booth school, this year’s winners include: PS. 196, Brooklyn, N.Y.; World of Inquiry School No. 58, Rochester. N.Y.; Dreamkeepers Academy, Norfolk, Va.; Chalkley Elementary, Chesterfield, Va. and Signal Hill Elementary, Signal Hill, Calif.

Panasonic to Sponsor University’s School Change Awards

Bob Howe — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:14:59 +0000

The Panasonic Corporation will begin sponsoring and funding the Fordham University Graduate School of Education’s National School Change Awards, beginning in July 2007. The awards, which will now be known as the Panasonic National School Change Awards, have been given by the Graduate School of Education each year since 2000 in recognition of outstanding progress and significant change at six public schools in the United States.

The program will be managed jointly by Fordham and the Panasonic Foundation, and the 2008 Panasonic National School Change Award will be made possible by a $75,000 grant from Panasonic North America.

“Panasonic is honored to support an effort that is tightly aligned with the vision of our parent company’s founder, Konosuke Matsushita,” said Joe Taylor, chief operating officer of Panasonic North America. “Mr. Matsushita views human beings as society’s most precious resource and a strong educational base as essential to human progress.”

The 2007 winners will be honored in a ceremony at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus on July 16 (the winners have already been recognized in individual ceremonies at each school). Ray Simon, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education will present the awards, joined by James Hennessy, Ph.D., dean of Fordham’s Graduate School of Education; Marcia Lyles, Ed.D., the newly appointed deputy chancellor of the New York City Department of Education; and Marilyn M. Joseph, director, Corporate Outreach Programs, Panasonic Corporation of North America. The ceremony’s keynote speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the U.S. Army.

Since the program’s inception, 601 schools from 44 states have been nominated. Each year, a distinguished panel of judges selects six award winners. In addition to being honored at the national ceremony, award-winning schools receive a grant of $5,000. Winning school principals are guests at the National Principals Leadership Institute, where they share their schools’ success stories.

“Panasonic’s sponsorship of the National School Change Awards dramatically demonstrates their dedication to public education,” said Lew Smith, director of the Panasonic National School Change Awards. “I believe that this effort will raise the profile of the awards and strengthen the message that a transformation to educational excellence is within the grasp of every school system.”

“Recognizing schools that are making strides toward eliminating achievement gaps is critically important,” said Larry Leverett, executive director of Panasonic Foundation. “The Panasonic National School Change Awards is doing so in a unique and valuable way by shining a spotlight on schools that have distinguished themselves in the extent of their improvement.”

This year’s winners, which will be honored on July 16,, are: PS. 196, Brooklyn, N.Y.; World of Inquiry School No. 58, Rochester. N.Y.; Dreamkeepers Academy, Norfolk, Va.; Chalkey Elementary, Chesterfield, Va.; Signal Hill Elementary, Signal Hill, Calif.; and Anna F, Booth Elementary, Irvington, Ala.

Program Tackles School Leadership Problem

Fordham News — Fri, 07 Apr 2000 16:35:39 +0000

NEW YORK – A Fordham Graduate School of Education (GSE) program is preparing public school teachers to become effective school leaders, addressing a national crisis in which too few qualified candidates are available to fill principal and assistant principal jobs. The two-year training program, called VIA (Visionary, Instructional and Administrative), mixes hands-on experience with the latest developments and research in school improvement and leadership. “Fordham is making a strong commitment to producing the next generation of leaders for metropolitan New York area schools,” said Lew Smith, Ph.D., director of VIA. Greater demands on school administrators to implement standards-based reform, inadequate professional development programs, an aging workforce and low pay in urban schools all contribute to the leadership crisis, Smith said. What’s more, half of the principals in New York City’s 1,145 public schools are not tenured, Smith said, pointing to the lack of experience and qualifications of those overseeing the education of 1 million students. The program was developed by GSE faculty in collaboration with New York City public school superintendents. Courses introduce students to the dual roles of the principal as a manager/administrator and instructional leader. In the first semester of the program, the group takes “Fundamentals of Educational Administration” and “Managing the Teaching/Learning Process.” Group projects, shadowing experiences and full-time internships also are highlights of the program. VIA graduates receive either a professional diploma or, with an additional course and project, a master’s degree in educational administration. Graduates also will be eligible for New York state certification as school administrators and supervisors, having completed the required coursework. Students pay one-third of tuition costs, their districts pay one-third, and a Fordham scholarship covers the remaining third. VIA 2000 students come from public school districts in the Bronx and Manhattan. Classes are held at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center. The 2001 program, with 93 enrollees, has expanded to include students from Brooklyn, Yonkers and Newburgh, with classes at the Tarrytown campus and St. Francis College. More than 150 students are expected to enroll in VIA 2002. The first class of 42 VIA students will graduate in May.