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Chancellor Salutes Ken Behring and Future PrincipalsOn July 13 Chancellor Robert Berdahl held a reception in his home to honor philanthropist Ken Behring and the 60 GSE students preparing to become school principals whose education Mr. Behring has underwritten. The students and their families had a chance to meet the benefactor who has provided full scholarships for all GSE candidates for the Administrative Services Credential. The course of study for new principals has been named the Ken Behring Institute for Educational Improvement. It's the GSE's newest program, and already its largest. "Ken Behring is a man who sees a need and responds immediately," said Chancellor Berdahl, referring both to Mr. Behring's generous support of education and his donation of tens of thousands of wheelchairs abroad. "The students in the Behring Institute have also seen a need in education and responded to it. The work of a principal is one of the most important jobs in education today." Mr. Behring, moved by the event and his observation of classes on campus, remarked, "This whole program has exceeded my expectations." Students praised the curriculum in the Behring Institute from several standpoints. "I feel energized by the classes, even on Wednesdays in the summer when we're on campus for ten hours," said Deborah Mar, who began work this summer on the intensive 15-month program that leads to both a master's degree and a credential as a school administrator. "People told me to go to an easy program and just get it over with, even if it's boring," said incoming student Carrie Wilson. "But here we're being trained for the job and grounded in research." "We don't want to buy a degree and then not know what to do when we get in the schools," added Mar. New student Patricia Harmon had a humorous take on her experience so far in the program: "I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I'm looking for the wizard. Some day I'll return to Kansas and tell them that what they were searching for was in their own backyard." On a more serious note, she went on to say, "The role of the principal is being redefined. As you look at the research, you see this evolving. We're all here to share in that." Randall Enos, already beginning the transition from teacher to administrator in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, explained his own motivation for becoming a Behring Scholar: "This training brings me up to speed on the changes that need to occur in schools. What we're learning will make a difference in the places we've been teaching." Ana Lunardi, finishing the program in the summer of 2001, found another aspect worthwhile: "What brought me to apply is that I heard that theory and practice would be tied." She started out wanting to be a teacher-leader, but "as the year progressed, I've decided to apply for a principalship." Many students praised Lynda Tredway, coordinator of the Behring Institute. "She models the type of classroom that we should have," Carrie Wilson said. Lynda Tredway was part of a faculty team with Norton Grubb, Lisa Kala, and Andrew Furco who put together the structure for the Behring Institute, working against the tight deadline that the state legislature gave the University to start the program, in response to the great need for administrators in California public schools. The first cohort of Behring Scholars completed the program in August 2001. For information on applying for summer 2002 admission contact Douglas Kearney at (510) 643-7458. |
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