Page 34 - 40thAnniversaryNJPSA

Frank Palatucci, who served as FEA’s director of School
Leadership Programs from 2011 to 2018, was effusive in his
praise of the work Ellie Forster did in creating NJEXCEL.
“What Ellie put together in 2003, and I don’t say this without
thinking twice, is a work of genius, putting together a cohort
model. These people work through the program together as Since its inception in 2003, more than 2,200 candidates
partners, so when they land a job, they have this network of have successfully completed the program and more than
people they know,” Palatucci said. 1,000 current New Jersey administrators are NJEXCEL
alumni.
“The one quality that Ellie had was vision. It’s not until
you begin to peel back the onion of what she did and try A separate NJEXCEL model, model 4, is a one-year program
to figure it out and look at it and all of a sudden have that that leads to School Administrator Certification, for those
epiphany that, ‘Wow, there it is. There’s the connection.’ who seek the certification to be a superintendent. In fact,
It’s amazing.” many NJEXCEL alumni from models 1, 2, and 3 come back
to complete Model 4 in a future year. In most cases, if the
Another great advantage to NJEXCEL is that the instructors candidate is a teacher, he or she will also earn the teacher
are not theory-based professors teaching antiquated methods. leader endorsement through this program. Teachers who seek
Classes are taught by today’s school and district leaders who a teacher leader endorsement but do not have a master’s
are dealing with the same issues the candidates will see in degree can do so through a similar but different NJDOE-
their schools and districts. They give real life advice about approved FEA program called NJTLC, which began in 2020.
community engagement, what to do in the classroom, how to
talk to students and parents, and how to solve issues. As students were graduating from NJEXCEL and starting their
careers as administrators, some reported that poor mentoring
NJEXCEL candidates also tackle an action research project. was an issue that had to be addressed. Once again, Ellie
They identify a problem in their schools, collect data, identify Forster suggested that this would be a good opportunity for
possible solutions, and then actually plan for what these NJPSA and FEA to provide the mentoring across the state. In
solutions might be. A recent survey revealed that 80 percent April 2003, FEA submitted a proposal to NJDOE to “Improve
of the projects that were completed through NJEXCEL are Induction and Retention of New School Leaders in New
currently in place being used in a district. Jersey.” This proposal presented “a research-based case