Academy targets leadership skills, supports administrators

School leaders have a challenging job. Balancing the needs of students, teachers, parents and community stakeholders requires skill, courage and finesse. Your leadership can mean the difference between a student body that is achieving and one that is not.

While the job can be extremely rewarding, it may make you feel like you’re being stretched in a dozen directions. A new program, the Balanced Leadership Academy, will help superintendents and principals strike the right balance and concentrate on key areas where leadership can impact your school community. The program kicks off this summer. Participation is limited to 40 superintendents and 40 principals.

“The growing demands for school accountability have put increased pressure on educators at all levels – from classroom teachers to school administrators,” said Wade Pogany, who oversees the program for the Department of Education. “The Balanced Leadership Academy supports school administrators by helping them to identify and develop key practices that will make them effective leaders.”

The academy focuses on 21 key leadership responsibilities identified in research compiled by McRel. School leaders will leave the program with the skills of knowing how to lead, why leadership is so important, and when it’s critical to provide effective leadership.

“McRel’s 21 responsibilities range from practical things such as establishing a set of standard operating procedures and establishing clear goals to more lofty concepts such as inspiring innovation and challenging the status quo.”

Delivered in a series of five sessions, the Balanced Leadership Academy will begin June 23-27 in Sioux Falls. That first workshop will cover Sessions 1 and 2 of the program. The remaining three sessions will be offered in one- or two-day workshops throughout the course of the year.

The academy is a joint effort of the School Administrators of South Dakota, South Dakota Department of Education, McRel, and North Central Comprehensive Center. It is part of a larger initiative developed by the South Dakota Department of Education called Project LEAD. Project Lead is a system of leadership development that supports the work of school administrators in successfully leading and managing K-12 schools.

For information about the Balanced Leadership Academy, contact Wade Pogany at the South Dakota Department of Education, (605) 773-3282, wade.pogany@state.sd.us.