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Role of Professional Associations

In developing or creating a new or restructured certificate, states might choose to requiresuperintendents to obtain professional recognitionfrom a national or state professional association. A good example of a professionalrecognition program is one currently sponsored by the Association of School Business Officials. Applicants wishing to becomerecognized school business officials must meet criteria based on academic preparation, specialized training, experience, andrecommendations from other practicing Registered School Business Officials. This program fills a void in school business officerstate certification and university based preparation.

A possible model for superintendent executive management recognition is a coordinated consortium effort byuniversities, state agencies, and professional organizations. The university role would be to academically prepare applicants inappropriate content knowledge and essential skills enriched by field based experiences (practicum) aligned to coursecontent/standards. The state agency’s role would insure essentialskills and knowledge were assessed and validated. The state agency might additionally assume responsibility to provide training in“essential”skills beyond university preparation requirement levels. The university and state, then together, could recommendcandidates to professional associations for a“recognition”(or registration) assessment at the appropriate district size andbudget level.

Portfolio review and interviews by professional organizations certainly seem to be logisticallyfeasible. Each year about 2,200 new superintendents (about 50% new to the superintendency) actually are employed from pools averagingfrom10 to 20 applicants (Glass, 2002). At the state level, the normal annual turnover of superintendents is about 20 %. Nationalassociations could organize and complete the recognition process working in conjunction with state affiliates.

The AASA currently provides numerous professional development opportunities for its membership. Stateaffiliates often offer an even greater and broader number of opportunities. Although AASA might be thought to be the“lead”organization in preparing superintendents, other groups such as the principal associations provide professional development closelyaligned with some aspects of the superintendency.

Numerous professional organizations serve superintendents and central office administrators; superintendents(AASA), personal directors (American Society for Public Administration [ASPA]), business managers (Association of School Business Officials [ASBO]), facility directors (Council of Educational Facility Planners International [CEFPI]), and curriculum directors (Association for Supervision and CurriculumDevelopment [ASCD]) along with umbrella organizations such as theNational Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) , National Council of Professors of Educational Administration(NCPEA), University Council on Educational Administration (UCEA), National Council of Professors of Educational Administration andthe Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The American Association of Management (AAM) might also be considered an alliedprofessional group. These organizations sponsor numerous training opportunities for members. Several have made recent efforts tobecome quasi-licensing organizations.

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Source:  OpenStax, Educational administration: the roles of leadership and management. OpenStax CNX. Jul 25, 2007 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10441/1.1
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