Mississippi Receives $1.1 Million To Expand Leadership Development Program

JACKSON, Miss. -- A coalition of state education, business, and government leaders, led by the Mississippi Department of Education, announced today the receipt of $1,194,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand current leadership development programs for school principals and superintendents. The grant is part of the Foundation's commitment to recognize and encourage high achievement models and to develop strong leadership in education.

"With this grant, our superintendents and principals will strengthen both their leadership and technology skills, which in turn will give all Mississippi students a powerful edge in today's world," said Governor Ronnie Musgrove.

The grant will support the development of the Technology Academy for School Leaders (TASL). TASL will build on the success of the state's current technology training programs that have provided hands-on experience and cutting-edge information to more than 300 school administrators. The new program will include a focus on developing skills and gaining knowledge to effectively integrate technology into the learning environment, as well as enhancing leadership skills to encourage data-driven decisions. Over the three-year term of the grant, TASL will reach administrators from 70 percent of the state's school districts.

"This grant is great news for the whole state," said Dr. Richard Thompson, State Superintendent of Education. "We've been working on leadership development programs in Mississippi from the classroom to the district level for many years; this is a nice recognition and boost for our programs."

Development of the new training institutes will begin this fall, with the first regional academies offered during the 2000-2001 school year. There will be five training academies held each year for two years. Superintendents and their principals will participate in these training sessions as teams, and then will be expected to train others in their district.

"Leadership and technology training is invaluable in this profession," noted Dr. Kim Stasny, Superintendent of the Bay St. Louis/Waveland School District. "With greater access to training, Mississippi's school leaders truly will be able to move the whole system forward."

Partners in this program include the Mississippi Department of Education (www.mde.k12.ms.us), the Office of the Governor, the Mississippi Economic Council, BellSouth Foundation, the Southeastern Vision for Education, Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, Institutions of Higher Learning, Howard Industries, Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), Connected University and others. The grant application is available at http://tasl.mde.k12.ms.us/index.html.

 
"Mississippi has had a long-standing commitment to strengthening its school leadership core," said Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director of the Foundation's Education Initiative. "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is excited to be a partner in advancing these leadership development programs."

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's State Challenge Grants for Leadership Development aim to provide every superintendent and principal in public and private schools with access to quality leadership development, focused on whole systems change and technology integration by 2002. Announced by the Foundation in March of this year, the grants are part of a $350 million, three-year commitment to helping all students achieve in the classroom.

Every state is eligible to apply for these three-year grants, which require matching funds and will be evaluated both on a state-by-state basis and on a national level. Applications must demonstrate broad statewide support, including support from the governor's office and other leading state officials.