School Responds to Governor's Education Initiatives

Berkeley's Graduate School of Education is working to help implement Governor Gray Davis's new legislation on education. A bill that passed the state senate in spring 1999 singles out Berkeley and Los Angeles as the UC campuses that will play an important role in alleviating the shortage of qualified, credentialed personnel in the public schools. The legislation calls for the universities to begin two new programs by summer 2000: Teacher Scholars, and the Principal Leadership Institute. The bill requires Cal to dramatically increase enrollment in credential programs over the next five years, and to provide full scholarships for all of these new students.

Commenting on the Principal Leadership Institute, Professor Norton Grubb said, "We want to prepare individuals who improve instruction, not merely administators. The Institute is part of our new Urban Educational Leadership Program, which we're planning in conjunction with the CSUs in San Francisco, Hayward, and San Jose."

Berkeley's Graduate School of Education has been working overtime in order to begin these initiatives by the July 2000 starting date. On a given day in Tolman Hall, faculty are writing documents to meet the deadline for papers to be filed in Sacramento for the Administrative Services Credential program, graduate student recruiters are fanning out over the Bay Area to attract new students to Berkeley, staff are working out the logistics of the fee waivers that credential students will receive in return for a commitment to work four years in low-income public schools, and development personnel are calling potential donors to raise scholarship funds for the students who will arrive this summer.

The Principal Leadership Institute is specifically designed for working professionals. Classes will be offered in the evening and during summers. "We're focusing on the special conditions in urban districts," Professor Grubb elaborated. "We want the students to experience a variety of internships and real-world projects so they can develop the competencies they will need for these demanding positions."

Norton Grubb