Page 94 - EdViewptsSpring2018-web_Neat

Facing Challenges With

Interconnected Leadership

By Linda Mayger, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, TCNJ

While schools have than 60 students. The loss of grant Faced with this challenge, team

limited control over the funding left the school with no coor- members turned to their individual
dinator, no teacher stipends, and 200
networks. A new partner emerged —
challenging conditions underserved children. a church needing space for weekend
under which they operate, Lisa turned to her leadership team worship services. The elementary
school was already leased to another
school leaders have for solutions. This group included congregation, so Lisa turned to a
school people and parents, as well
choices in how to respond. as community partners from the nearby middle school with a similarly
downsized afterschool program and
For the past three years, I have been hospital, a university, local churches, an auditorium available on the week-
and several businesses. The partners
talking to leaders who responded quickly identified volunteers to ends. The initially skeptical middle
to challenges by developing robust, implement afterschool enrichment school principal eventually agreed to a
interconnected partner networks. programs at no cost to the school. three-year deal with the church. Each
The following story describes a joint school received an equal amount of
partnership that saved two afterschool The academic intervention program money for its afterschool program in
programs, illustrating the characteristics presented the larger challenge. Lisa exchange for the church’s use of the
of an interconnected leader. insisted that high quality academic inter- middle school on weekends.
vention for struggling students required
A Case Study skilled, curriculum-aligned instruction — The church provided a sizable pool of
money, but it was insufficient for the
When I first met elementary school something beyond the skills of most vol- district to carry the afterschool coor-
unteers. If the program was to effectively
principal Lisa (not her real name) three serve 250 kids for two hours each day, dinators as full-time employees. This
years ago, her formerly successful af- the school needed to pay professional prompted the school to forge a new
terschool intervention and enrichment instructors and an afterschool coordina- partnership with the local Boys and
program had dropped from serving tor to manage the programs. Girls Club. In exchange for expanding
250 students in the prior year to fewer

Educational Viewpoints -92- Spring 2018