Blog

History of The SUPES Academy

2011-05-09T04:36:23Z

As a proud sponsor of The SUPES Academy, we believe in the importance of understanding the background that helped SUPES to grow into what it is today. Fourteen years ago, Tim Quinn and Shelley Keith came to an important realization that programs for K12 educational leaders were often not providing people the necessary skill sets to deal with the increasingly complex issues facing Superintendents and Administrators. Tim and Shelley wanted to focus on the challenges of urban education, and after designing a unique curriculum of their own, they founded the Michigan Leadership Institute to train and prepare a new generation of extraordinary leaders. Last year, The SUPES Academy was created to expand Tim and Shelley’s early work in an effort to make the curriculum more accessible to a national audience. Tim and Shelley sit on the National SUPES advisory board, and with their help, SUPES has been able to develop a comprehensive leadership program that addresses the countrywide issues.

By expanding Tim and Shelley’s vision, SUPES is better prepared to formalize a network of leaders who want to positively impact the education system in light of the current education crisis. In the world of education, it is the people that matter, and even the best leaders can be made exceptional with the right training tools. Outstanding district leaders are needed to transform our nation’s school systems to systems of high performance and achievement. Furthermore, we can expect an unprecedented number of superintendents retiring or leaving the profession within the next five years. While this predicament has the potential to impact school systems extremely negatively, it also provides the opportunity for a new generation of reform-minded leaders to emerge in the field of K-2 education. The SUPES Academy program was established to prepare these new leaders, and with SUPES locations across the country, the organization will hopefully garner as much outreach as possible to craft a larger body of education experts. In the coming years, SUPES hopes to offer even more locations to be able to prepare the maximum number of leaders for their roles in education across the country...and PROACT Search is proud to be a sponsor of this initiative!

For more information about The SUPES Academy, or to apply for one of the 2011 academies, visit their website here!

Star Intern Report

2011-05-06T17:41:18Z

Today we are checking in with intern Scott Zhang about the work he’s been doing for our company recently. Over the past few weeks, Scott has been busy interviewing the board of Synesi Associates, our partner organization, and researching journal articles, school district data, and government sources to present Synesi to prospective school districts. Synesi (visit the company site here) aims to positively impact K-12 institutions in order to improve student achievement, so Scott's work has been tremendously beneficial. Scott has also been formally trained on a new project management software and is currently planning and looking forward to developing a project tracking mechanism for some of our previous projects.

We’ve kept Scott busy working for all three of our companies and he’s done great work! If you have any feedback on what else Scott (and our other star interns) should be focusing on, visit us on Facebook and share your thoughts!

Stay tuned for an update from our president – coming soon!

SUPES Academy Locations

2011-05-02T16:16:46Z

We are pleased and excited to release the fall locations of our sister organization, The SUPES Academy. The academy is designed to identify, develop, and support a new generation of outstanding leaders for America's school systems. Program dates remain TBA, but this weekend development seminar will take place this fall in Hartford, CT, Philadelphia, PA, Richmond, VA, and Chicago, IL. For more information, please visit the SUPES Academy website here. You can also like SUPES on Facebook here.

If you or anyone you know is interested in this academy, the application is available on the SUPES website. This is a great development tool if you would like to hone your leadership skills in a powerfully engaging environment!

Teachers Unions Help Shape Bipartisan Bill in IL

2011-04-25T14:20:13Z

A new bill has passed in the Illinois Senate which would change teachers' job protections and collective bargaining rights in the state.

Private School Vouchers Included in Budget Deal

2011-04-15T14:13:08Z

President Obama agreed to finance vouchers for Washington students to attend private schools as part of the budget compromise that prevented a government shutdown.

President Addresses Education Inequality in New York

2011-04-08T14:35:24Z

Obama has called education and education reform "the civil rights issue of our time" as he calls for increased efforts to diminish the achievement gap between African American and other students.

Online Learning Provokes Question of Quality

2011-04-06T14:25:35Z

Though proponents of online education say the course offerings are rich, skeptics say corners are being cut in an effort to save money.

Study Finds High Dropout Rates for Black Males in KIPP Schools

2011-04-01T18:04:14Z

KIPP charter middle schools enroll a significantly higher proportion of African-American students than the local school districts they draw from, but 40 percent of the black males they enroll leave between grades 6 and 8.

National Slide Into Pink Slip Purgatory Has Consequences

2011-04-01T17:11:43Z

Far more reports of pink slips are on the horizon, as more-conservative state legislatures advance tighter budgets, and the federal economic-stimulus aid that has helped preserve school spending dries up.

Cleveland CEO Search - Application Now Open!

2011-03-09T20:53:49Z

For more information, please visit www.CMSDCEO.com.

PROACT Search has been retained by the Cleveland Metropolitan School Board (CMSD) to conduct a national search to find the District’s next Chief Executive Officer.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is the largest K-12 school district in the state of Ohio, with a an enrollment of over 44,000 students. The district includes 84 K-12 schools, 10 other schools, and 28 high schools and employs more than 8200 certified staff members, and has an annual operating budget of $1.4 billion.

Apply online!