November 2016: School Administrator

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Editor's Note

A Model for Recognizing Growth

If there鈥檚 such a thing as being a 鈥減oster child鈥 for a particular cause within the ranks of superintendents, then I鈥檒l nominate Patricia Deklotz as the profession鈥檚 best representative on the matter of micro-credentials.

She has overseen the adoption and thoughtful use of this new form of promoting professional growth in her southeastern Wisconsin school system of Kettle Moraine by recognizing that educators hold different professional development needs. In abandoning the common one-size-fits-all approach, she鈥檚 creating a model for other progressive school districts and giving her schools a leg up on luring the best talent to the classroom. (I discovered a newly minted Ph.D. in zoology turned down an offer of a professorship just last summer to teach science in Kettle Moraine.) Recent accounts of her work have landed in several national publications, including Education Week.

Now it鈥檚 our turn. Her own words serve to showcase her efforts, serving as a practical complement to the cover story about micro-credentialing by Barnett Berry of the Center for Teaching Quality. I am certain many readers will find considerable appeal in the personalized learning of their staff members, and Deklotz can probably expect some newfound attention as a poster child.

Jay P. Goldman
Editor, School Administrator
 703-875-0745
 jgoldman@aasa.org
 

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