This year AEACMS has subscribed to an exciting lecture series through University of San Diego's School of Leadership and Education Science (SOLES). This series features a monthly lecture delivered by a leader in the field of education. The October lecturer was CA Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell; the November 20 lecturer was Dr. Anthony Muhammad.
I have decided to invite a different teacher to attend the lecture with me each month. This not only provides us a chance to discuss school issues away from the often hectic campus environment, but it also allows us to network with educators from across San Diego County.
Mr. Prouse attended the October lecture, and Ms. DeRosier joined me for the lecture by Dr. Muhammad. Ms. DeRosier and I were fortunate enough to speak with Dr. Muhammad during the pre-lecture social hour. We discussed issues related to charter schools (he co-founded a nationally-recognized charter school in Flint, Michigan) as well as general themes in education.
Dr. Muhammad's lecture was powerful and engaging. His strengths lie not only in his dynamic presentation style but in the solid empirical research basis for his arguments. Now a researcher and consultant, Dr. Muhammad works with helping schools and districts across the country eliminate the achievement gap. He is the founder of New Frontier 21, an educational consulting firm. The following is an excerpt of Dr. Muhammad's bio from the New Frontier 21 website:
Anthony Muhammad is one of the most sought after educational consultants in North America. As a practitioner of nearly twenty years, Dr. Muhammad has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, middle school principal, and high school principal. His tenure as a practitioner has earned him several awards as both a teacher and a principal.
Dr. Muhammad's most notable accomplishment came as principal at Levey Middle School in Southfield, Michigan, a National School of Excellence, where student proficiency on state assessments was more than doubled in five years. Dr. Muhammad and the staff at Levey used the Professional Learning Communities at Work (PLC) model of school improvement, and they have been recognized in several videos and articles as a model, high- performing PLC.
Part of last Thursday's talk dealt with a label Dr. Muhammad uses to indicate teachers who are fully on board with the school mission and vision, and who truly believe that all students can learn. He calls these teachers "Believers." I feel that the success of AEACMS is due in large part to the fact that we have many believers on our staff who work tirelessly for solutions that benefit all students rather than falling back on excuses and the status-quo.
When we finished chatting with the presenter, I had him sign a copy of the book "The Collaborative Administrator," which Dr. Muhammad has co-authored. His inscription reads: "To Albert Einstein Academies—keep up the good work and keep creating geniuses."
Dr. Muhammad's most notable accomplishment came as principal at Levey Middle School in Southfield, Michigan, a National School of Excellence, where student proficiency on state assessments was more than doubled in five years. Dr. Muhammad and the staff at Levey used the Professional Learning Communities at Work (PLC) model of school improvement, and they have been recognized in several videos and articles as a model, high- performing PLC.
Part of last Thursday's talk dealt with a label Dr. Muhammad uses to indicate teachers who are fully on board with the school mission and vision, and who truly believe that all students can learn. He calls these teachers "Believers." I feel that the success of AEACMS is due in large part to the fact that we have many believers on our staff who work tirelessly for solutions that benefit all students rather than falling back on excuses and the status-quo.
When we finished chatting with the presenter, I had him sign a copy of the book "The Collaborative Administrator," which Dr. Muhammad has co-authored. His inscription reads: "To Albert Einstein Academies—keep up the good work and keep creating geniuses."
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