$600,000 grant to aid Montana school leadership

Montana is one of 15 states that will soon receive a $600,000 grant from the Wallace Foundation to help schools develop effective leaders as part of the State Action for Education Leadership Project.

"The relationship between effective leadership of today’s schools and student achievement is well known," said Linda McCulloch, state superintendent of public instruction.

Gazette State Bureau

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/04/21/build/state/80-school-grant.inc

Montana’s high performing school districts will be identified and tapped by the state to help other schools in need. Leaders from the state’s most effective districts will help teachers, principals, superintendents, and trustees in struggling schools develop leadership skills through training, mentoring and networking.

"The efforts of the first phase of this project have been very successful in elevating awareness about the need for strong school leaders," Gov. Judy Martz said.

In 2001, The Wallace Foundation announced a three-year, $8.9 million grant to launch the State Action for Education Leadership Project, a national consortium led by the Council of Chief State School Officers that includes the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of State Boards of Education and the Education Commission of the States.

Working directly with 15 selected states, the program is leading a national effort to ensure that laws and policies in all 50 states strengthen the ability of superintendents and principals to improve student learning. The grant states are Montana, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.