Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

December 11, 2009 

New Principal Academy 
includes District III Leaders 

In the next five years, Gwinnett County Public schools will need to employ more than 100 principals and 500 assistant principals for its growing student population. 

To help meet that need, Superintendent/CEO J. Alvin Wilbanks has created two pipeline programs—the Quality Plus Leader Academy to develop new principals and the Aspiring Leader Program to develop new assistant principals. 

The third class of more than thirty leaders completed its year-long training program for new principals in the December 2009 Quality Plus Leader Academy. Of the thirty-one leaders in the Class of 2009, the following District III principals and assistant principals were graduated: 

Ms. Lynne Best Assistant Principal Duluth Middle School 
Mr. Todd Hamilton Assistant Principal Central Gwinnett High 
(Pinckneyville Middle) 

Ms. Lisa Marie Johnson Assistant Principal Berkeley Lake Elementary 
Mr. Clayborn Knight Principal Nesbit Elementary 
(Norcross Elementary)

Mr. Mark McCann Assistant Principal Duluth Middle School 
Ms. Kelly McConnachie Assistant Principal Norcross Elementary 
Dr. Chandra Young Assistant Principal Stripling Elementary 
Dr. Michael Zinn Assistant Principal Pinckneyville Middle 

Dr. Glenn Pethel, director of the Quality Plus Leader Academy, has provided leadership in the development of the curriculum, the timetable, and the funding for this important initiative. 

Recognizing the importance of principal development in public education, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation of Los Angeles provided $3.4 million to support the program in Gwinnett County Public Schools. 

The year-long QPLA program included readings related to leadership in public education; case studies for class discussion identifying approaches for problem solving and facilitation of group discussion; development of teams in formal and informal networks; mentoring of class members by established and successful Gwinnett County principals; guided and directed internships in Gwinnett County’s elementary, middle, and high schools; and presentations to the class by teams of class members. 

Superintendent Wilbanks taught several programs in the QPLA, while each of the five Gwinnett Board of Education members made a presentation to the class during the class year. All-day classes are held on Saturdays during the academic year in the Training Center of the school system’s Instructional Services Center. 

Candidates for a second new pipeline program for leadership development will be identified for Aspiring Leader Class of 2010. The program will begin in mid 2010. To launch the new initiative, 36 current Gwinnett County Public School classroom teachers will be selected from among 230 applications submitted. 

The Class of 2010 will be the school system’s pilot class. It is anticipated that one class per year in the future will be organized for the Aspiring Leader program for assistant principals. 

Dr. Glenn Pethel is also the Director of the Aspiring Leader program. He reports that the following instructional segments will be included in the Aspiring Leader curriculum: 

Leadership that Works; 
Roles, Responsibilities, and Expectations of Assistant Principals; 
Curriculum and Instruction Assessment; 
Recruitment, Selection, Training, and Support of School Personnel; 
Business, Operations, and Technology. 

The reasons for development of the Aspiring Leader program include the variation in leader preparation of current classroom teachers in Gwinnett County. Also, there have been significant changes in Georgia leadership certification in recent years. 

In addition, the school system has need to secure more effective leaders to move the system into the second decade of the 21st Century. Finally, there is need to link assistant principal development to improved results in student academic achievement. 

Class members will convene from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. during school hours. The Aspiring Leader program for assistant principals will convene its first class in 2010. 

As District III School Board member, it was a privilege to speak to the Class of 2009 Quality Plus Leader Academy on the last Saturday of instruction, including discussion of key issues between 2010 and 2020, changes in technology, legal initiatives undergirding the projected changes, and the intersect between K-12 and higher education—in Gwinnett, in Georgia, in the nation, and beyond. 

I thank the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation for their investment in the critical need for development of a principal core in our school system. In Gwinnett County alone, we will need more than 100 new principals in the next five years. 

Also, I support the development of the Aspiring Leader program to help us develop the pipeline needed to fill more than 500 assistant principal positions between 2010 and 2015. 

Thank you to our District III leaders for their investment of time and energy in preparing themselves for the future academic and leadership needs in Gwinnett County Public Schools. 

Most especially, thank you to the citizens of District III for their support of these initiatives to make public education in Gwinnett County the very best in Georgia, the nation, and beyond. 

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