Coeur d’Alene, Idaho schools hire leadership trainers

"This is very specific to our district," said Superintendent Hazel Bauman. "We’re having people come in to train our principals and coach teachers to become better educators."

Designed as a three-year project and dubbed the Coeur d’Alene Academy of Leadership, the cost to the district is $96,000 per year.

Bauman signed the first year’s agreement in July. Trustees gave it their blessing as a consent agenda item at the August board meeting.

"Principal training is being done across the country. The research on effective schools is abundantly clear that the skill set and ability of the principal directly affects the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom," Bauman said. "I can think of very few better ways of spending taxpayer dollars than principal and teacher training."

Winston-Salem Systemic Services Inc., a North Carolina-based firm, was hired last summer by District 271 to provide an on-site learning academy for its leaders.

By MAUREEN DOLAN
Staff writer

Full Story: http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2008/11/09/news/news02.txt