|  Ten assembly speakers focus
on leadership issues at Institute Principals attending the 2006 Summer Leadership Institute will be able be choose from 10 Assembly speakers among the 35 program events when they gather July 10-13 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. Assembly sessions range from literacy, to working with parents, to small learning communities, to leadership skills. The Assemblies are: Developing and Enhancing Leadership Skills for Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps by Marvin R. Pittman, director, division of school improvement, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This session will focus on promising practices that high school principals can implement to raise achievement for all students, including high-performing youngsters, and close achievement gaps for ethnic minority and low socio-economic students. Pittman, who returns to the Summer Institute as a presenter, is a former teacher, principal and administrator in North Carolina schools. Breaking Barriers: Concrete Tools for Working with Students in Poverty led by Donna Beegle, president, Communication Across Barriers. After growing up in generational poverty, Beegle has devoted her life working with people from poverty backgrounds. She has taught speech communications at the college level, helped to develop programs to increase graduation rates of students from poverty backgrounds, and written and spoken on strategies to assist people from poverty backgrounds. In her session, Beegle will address how to engage and educate children living in poverty especially in light of Leave No Child Behind legislation. The Courage to Lead by Glenn Singleton, founder and executive director, Pacific Educational Group. In this session Singleton will call upon school leaders to address an institutional challenge facing underserved students of color populations. He cites the racial achievement gap and believes there is a corresponding lack of passion, practice and persistence on the part of educators to focus on eliminating it. Singleton’s company addresses systematic issues of educational inequity by providing guidance to districts. An adjunct professor of educational leadership at San Jose State University, he has received the Eugene T. Carothers Human Relations Award from the National School Public Relations Association, written the book Courageous Conversations About Race: A Strategy for Achieving Equity in Schools, and appeared on “Good Morning America.” Using the Resiliency Model to Build Parent Leadership by Donna Williams, chairperson, Strive to Excel Board, Hilton Head and Bluffton High Schools. Williams will discuss her model to empower parents to become leaders in their family’s life and, thus, supportive of their child’s academic success in high school. A former high school principal in Chicago and South Carolina, Williams emphasized parental developmental and participation in every aspect of the instructional program. She received the Chicago Board of Education’s Outstanding Leadership Award, was named Principal of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa in Chicago, and was selected “Hero in Education” by Indigo Magazine. Literacy Leadership by Rosemarye Taylor, associate professor of educational leadership, University of Central Florida. Taylor will recommend to principals a fail-safe literacy system they can create in their schools. A former high school and district office administrator, she also was director of professional development for Scholastic, Inc. Taylor has led research, design and implementation of the Orange County Literacy program that has successfully impacted thousands of students, teachers and administrators. Building a Foundation or Small Learning Communities by Pam Robbins, Robbins and Associates. Robbins will discuss what small learning communities are, how they function, and why research indicates schools that function as small learning communities are four times more likely to be improving academic achievement. She consults internationally on brain research, quality teaching, emotional intelligence, instructional strategies for block scheduling, and developing professional learning communities, among other topics. Effective Mindsets for Resilient Leadership by Ernie Mendes, a former classroom teacher and psychotherapist who now is a consultant on effective teaching, the needs of adolescents, and interpersonal effectiveness among other topics. He founded S4 (Summer Super Skills Seminar), a three-day program to teach adolescents learning skills and social-emotional skills. His session will deal with such questions as what makes some leaders more resilient and effective than others, how to develop leadership resiliency, what happens when people focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, and how can leaders experience a sense of accomplishment on a regular basis. Survival Skills for the First Year Principal by Dudley E. Flood. One of the most popular Institute speakers, Flood returns to discuss leadership skills and present a self assessment activity through which one may become more aware of his or her strengths. A former high school teacher and principal of a 1-12 school, Flood worked at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction where he attained the position of association state superintendent. He also was executive director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators for five years. Brain Power by Deborah Estes, founder of Estes, Group, Inc., which specializes in training to both business and educational sectors. Estes will present the latest research for keeping one’s brain healthy, active and young as one’s body ages. She is a former high school teacher, middle school principal, curriculum/public relations director, and senior consultant for the Region 10 Educational Service Center in Texas. Developing Intelligence Through Concept-based Curriculum & Instruction by Lynn Erickson, C&I Consulting. This nationally-recognized speaker will urge principals “to take the high road to standards” with concept-based curriculum and instruction. She will focus on strategies teachers can use for developing student intelligence along with the difference between the old two-dimensional curriculum and instruction model and a three-dimensional model that uses concepts to engage thinking on two levels—factual and conceptual. Erickson has been a teacher, principal, curriculum director and adjunct professor. She has written two best-selling books and works with school districts nationally and internationally on curriculum and instruction. Past News Items: Nationally-recognized speakers highlight
2006 Summer Leadership Institute-2/06 Idaho Principals Honor Union Pacific - 1/06 Milwaukee Public Schools Recognizes
Principals' Partnership - 7/05 Summer Institute LIVE Coverage - 7/05 Summer Institute News - 4/05 The Principals' Partnership Receives
NASSP's Distinguished Service Award -3/05 WASSP names us a "Platinum Partnership" - 3/05 Union Pacific Foundation Receives UASSP Award - 2/05 Summer Institute News - 1/05 Senior Partner News- 9/04 Senior Partner Program Announced - 7/04 2004 Principals' Partnership Summer Institute!-5/04
Principals' Partnership Lead Team Meets with Texas Education Leaders- 4/04 Union Pacific Recognized by Chicago Principals for Partnership - 3/04 Partnership Consultant Receives
Gruhn-Long-Melton Award- 2/04 Ursula Harrison Named Wyoming High School Principal of the Year- 11/03 2003 Summer Institute A "Home Run!" Summer Leadership Institute in Portland, Oregon, July 14-17, 2003 Chicago Principals Focus on Instruction - 10/02 Summer Institute 2002 - 7/02 Educational Leaders to Speak at First Summer Institute- 4/02 | 
