EDHE 5900 301: Creating a Continuous Improvement Program
Overview of Leadership Excellence Academies
The overall focus of the Academies is to establish a responsive, cost-effective leadership
development program which utilizes a skills-based approach, grounded in sound leadership and
management concepts, principles, and practices.







The Academies are built upon a foundation of research, theory, professional wisdom, and
best practices.
The Academies were developed through a national partnership between the National
Adult Education Professional Development Consortium and ProLiteracy America.
Training occurs over time with opportunities for application through a series of interim
activities and learning projects.
Technology-based delivery mediums, including online courses, discussion boards,
electronic portfolios, and webcasts, are combined with face-to-face workshops to expand
access.
Workshops and webcasts are facilitated by national trainers with strong backgrounds in
local adult education management and leadership.
National certification is available for program managers who wish to pursue national
certification.
The program offers a variety of options so that states can select the professional
development package that best meets their needs.
The Program Improvement Cluster includes a series of six courses. Completion of all six
courses, along with participation in all related activities, is required for national certification and/or
graduate credit. Five of the six courses combine face-to-face workshops with various web-based
activities. The sixth course, The Leadership Approach to Program Improvement: How Leaders
Inspire, Influence, and Achieve Results, is a stand-alone online course with a follow-up webcast
and application activities.
The Leadership Excellence Academies are designed to be delivered over the course of two
years. Participants who are interested in pursuing national certification will complete an
application at the beginning of the second year. A nominal certification fee will be charged at that
time.
During the two years, participants interested in national certification will be expected to:





Actively participate in five six-hour face-to-face workshops,
Complete two one-hour online courses and one six-hour online course,
Participate in six one-hour webcasts,
Complete and submit interim activities between four of the six courses, and
Complete and submit a culminating learning project.
1. Need for professional development
1.1. Student learning needs
Adult education programs address the following student needs:
1.1.1. Demonstrated improvements in literacy skill levels in reading, writing and
speaking the English language, numeracy and problem-solving, English
language acquisition, and other literacy skills.
1.1.2. Placement in, retention in, or completion of, postsecondary education, training,
unsubsidized employment or career advancement.
1.1.3. Receipt of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent.
1
1.2. Approach
One of the most important roles of the local program manager is to establish a structure
and process for continuous improvement. By creating a regular system for identifying
and prioritizing program and professional development needs, identifying promising
evidence-based strategies, pilot testing those strategies, integrating practices programwide, and monitoring impact on student outcomes, the program manager can better
equip teachers with the tools they need for effective instruction. The program
improvement process begins with the identification of needs from three starting points:
self assessment, research, and data analysis. The Academy series will focus on these
starting points and will give local managers the tools and resources to develop and
implement a program improvement plan based on prioritized needs.
1.3
Program manager knowledge and skills
To implement the approach described in 1.2, program managers need to be able to:
 Identify three starting points for launching a program improvement initiative.
 Analyze a variety of research-based self-assessments that can be used to
measure instructional and programmatic strengths and needs.
 Engage staff in adapting self-assessments to reflect local and state policies and
procedures.
 Use and analyze the results of a teacher/tutor, local director, and/or program selfassessment.
 Implement a process for engaging staff in accessing, understanding, judging, and
integrating research findings into program practice.
 Analyze research findings related to teaching and learning and identify implications
for program improvement.
 Respond to critical decision points for developing a program improvement plan
based on research findings.
 Identify a variety of data sources that can provide relevant information for program
improvement.
 Determine appropriate indicators for flagging potential problems.
 Generate appropriate questions to identify possible causes of problems.
 Use a structure for identifying and piloting program improvement options.
 Examine the latest research on student persistence to determine implications on
instructional practice, policies and procedures, and professional development.
 Explore a variety of instructional and management strategies that promote student
persistence.
 Examine professional development options that can help teachers/tutors support
student persistence.
 Apply research, data, and self assessment information to get new instructors/tutors
off to a good start.
 Explore the components and available resources of an orientation model for new
ABE and ESL instructional providers.
 Consider decision points necessary to adapt an effective orientation process to
program needs.
 Examine strategies for maintaining a quality, engaged instructional staff.
 Define the term leadership and explain the dynamics of a leader-follower
relationship.
 State key characteristics of effective leaders.
 Analyze their own leadership style.
 Differentiate between the role of manager and leader.
 Engage staff in developing a vision, mission, and core values to guide program
operations.
 Apply leadership strategies to issues they face in their adult education program.
2
All of these skills will be addressed within the two-yea Academy series.
1.4
Participants
The Academies are designed to support local adult education leaders and those
striving to become leaders. The Academies create a dialogue that leads to discovery,
new knowledge, innovation, and ultimately, to both individual and organizational
transformation. They do require, however, some extra work and willingness to engage
staff in program improvement.
Both new and experienced managers will benefit from participation. As many local
managers are nearing retirement age, the Academies can also assist with transitional
planning. The Academies offer a great opportunity to begin training some lead
teachers or other program coordinators who have interest in assuming the role of
program manager in the future.
2. Intended Outcomes, Indicators, and Data Sources for EDAD 5900 301
Outcome: As a result
of the Leadership
Excellence Academy,
local program
managers will be able
to:
 Use the latest
research findings
related to student
persistence to
assess current
program operations
(instructional
practices, policies
and procedures,
and professional
development) that
support student
persistence.
Transfer research
findings into an
action plan to
address persistence
deficits.
 Engage their staff in
developing a vision,
mission, and core
values to guide
program operations
and apply
leadership
strategies to issues
they face in their
adult education
program.
Indicator/Data Source
Data Collector
Following completion of a 6-hour face-to-face
workshop, participants will (1) engage their staff in
assessing their current instructional practices,
polices and procedures, and professional
development that support student persistence; (2)
respond to Program Improvement Decision Points;
(3) post responses in their electronic portfolio; and
(4) participate in a one-hour webcast to discuss their
experiences with assessing, prioritizing and planning
the integration of student persistence strategies into
their program.
Trainers and
ProLiteracy
America
Credentialing
Manager
based on a
developed
scoring rubric
During a six-hour online leadership course that takes
a look at the characteristics of effective leaders and
gives participants a chance to examine their own
leadership style, participants have opportunities to
assess their current skills and apply key leadership
concepts to the issues they face as a program
manager. Following completion of the course,
participants (1) develop or refine, with input from
staff, a vision, mission statement, and/or guiding
principles to guide their adult education program;
(2) respond to Program Improvement Decision
Points; and (3) post responses in their electronic
Trainers and
ProLiteracy
America
Credentialing
Manager
based on a
developed
scoring rubric
3
Outcome: As a result
of the Leadership
Excellence Academy,
local program
managers will be able
to:
Indicator/Data Source
Data Collector
portfolio.
 Engage their staff in
assessing, refining.
and strengthening
their current new
instructor orientation
process.
Following completion of a 6-hour face-to-face
workshop, participants will (1) engage their staff in
assessing, refining. and strengthening their current
new instructor orientation process; (2) respond to
Program Improvement Decision Points; and (3) post
responses in their electronic portfolio.
Trainers and
ProLiteracy
America
Credentialing
Manager
based on a
developed
scoring rubric
 (Culminating
learning project)
Develop and pilottest a program
improvement project
based on a
prioritized need
identified through
self-assessments,
data analysis, or
research review.
Following the completion of all Academy activities,
participants will:
 select one identified need from the program self
assessment, research, or data activities;
 develop a program improvement plan to address
that need;
 post the plan;
 pilot it for a minimum of three months, and post
the results in their electronic portfolio.
Trainers and
ProLiteracy
America
Credentialing
Manager
based on a
developed
scoring rubric
3. Content, Learning Activities, and Follow Up
3.1. Content: The Academy is built upon a foundation of research, theory, professional
wisdom, and best practices. Training occurs over the course of two-years with
opportunities for application through a series of interim activities and a culminating
learning project. Technology-based mediums, such as online courses, discussion
boards, electronic surveys, and webcasts, are combined with face-to-face workshops.
Leadership topics and competencies build upon the research-based ProNet
Management Competencies for Local Adult Education Directors. Those competencies
address areas related to leadership skills, instructional leadership, resource
management and allocation, human resource management, program monitoring and
evaluation, professional development practices, and community collaboration.
The content of the Academy series has been developed by Dr. Lennox McLendon,
Executive Director of the National Adult Education Professional Development
Consortium, and Kathi Polis, President of Strategic Training and Resources, Inc.
McLendon and Polis each have more than 30 years of experience in national, state,
and local adult education management and instructional design. The content of the
training series will be based on previously-developed content by McLendon and Polis,
in addition to new material within the online courses and webcasts.
EDHE 690 will consist of three prevalent themes:
 Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Adult Learners
 The Leadership Approach to Program Improvement: How Leaders
Inspire, Influence, and Achieve Results
4

Getting Instructors Off to the Right Start and Keeping Them There.
The following chart represents the research and professional wisdom base that is
incorporated into the six themes.
The Leadership Approach
to Program Improvement







Analyzing Performance
Problems: Or, You
Really Oughta Wanna How to Figure out Why
People Aren't Doing
What They Should Be,
and What to do About It
(3rd Edition), by Robert
F. Mager and Peter Pipe
- Center for Effective
Performance, May 1997.
Approaches to Training
And Development (3rd
Edition), by Dugan Laird,
Elwood F. Holton III, and
Sharon S. Naquin Perseus Publishing,
June 17, 2003.
Becoming A Manager:
How New Managers
Master The Challenges
of Leadership, by Linda
Hill, 1993.
Emotional Intelligence:
Science and Myth by
Gerald Matthews, by
Moshe Zeidner and
Richard D. Roberts - The
MIT Press, January 3,
2003.
Human Resource
Development (4th
Edition), by Jon M.
Werner and Randy L.
DeSimone - SouthWestern College
Publishing, March 14,
2005.
Improving Performance:
How to Manage the
White Space in the
Organization Chart, by
Geary A. Rummler and
Alan P. Brache - JosseyBass, May 12, 1995.
Leadership 101: What
Every Leader Needs to
Strategies for Motivating and
Retaining Adult Learners










Persistence among Adult Basic
Education Students in Pre-GED
Classes (Comings, J. Parrella, A,
& Soricone, L. 1999)
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=663
Helping Adults Persist: Four
Supports, pg. 6 (Comings, J.
Parrella, A, & Soricone, L. 2000)
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/res
ources/teach/lp_d.pdf
Sponsors and Sponsorship, pg 13
(Comings, J. & Cuban, S. 2002)
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/res
ources/teach/lp_d.pdf
The K-12 School Experiences of
High School Dropouts, pg. 4
(Reder, S. & Strawn, C. 2001)
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/res
ources/teach/lp_c.pdf
Stopping Out, Not Dropping Out,
pg. 7 (Belzer, A. 1998)
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/res
ources/teach/lp_c.pdf
Adult Learner Retention Revisited
(Kerka, S. 1995)
http://www.cete.org/acve/docgen.
asp?tbl=archive&ID=A002
Build Motivation by Building
Learner Participation (Garner, B.
1998)
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=419
Getting into Groups (Pritza, M.
1998)
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=415
Getting to Class and Completing
a Semester is Tough, pg. 12
(Sticht, T. et al. 1998)
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/res
ources/teach/lp_c.pdf
Improving Retention in Adult
Basic Education and
Recommended Strategies for
Effective Instructional and
Counseling Interventions
(Quigley, B. 1997)
http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Pub
s/0600-3.htm
Getting Instructors Off
to the Right Start and
Keeping Them There
 Schein, Edgar,
(2004).
Organizational
Culture and
Leadership, Third
Edition. New
York: Wiley
Publishers.
 Smith, Cristine,
Gillespie, Marilyn
(2002). Research on
Professional
Development and
Teacher Change:
Implications for Adult
Basic Education
 Sabatini, J. P.,
Daniels, M.,
Ginsburg, L., Limeul,
K., Russell, M., &
Stites, R. (2000).
Teacher
perspectives on the
adult education
profession: National
survey findings
about an emerging
profession (Tech.
Rep. No. 00-02).
Philadelphia:
National Center on
Adult Literacy.
 Smith, Cristine,
Hofer, Judy. (2002).
Pathways to
Change: A
Summary of
Findings from
NCSALL's Staff
Development Study
5






Know, by John C.
Maxwell - Thomas
Nelson, Sept. 10, 2002.
Leadership and the One
Minute Manager:
Increasing Effectiveness
Through Situational
Leadership, by Ken
Blanchard and Patricia
Zigarmi, Ed.D. - William
Morrow, October 6,
1985.
Leadership: Theory and
Practice (4th Edition) ,
by Peter G. Northouse Sage Publications, Inc.,
Oct. 26, 2006.
Management of the
Absurd, by Richard
Farson - Free Press,
March 13, 1997.
Primal Leadership:
Learning to Lead with
Emotional Intelligence,
by Daniel Goleman,
Richard Boyatzis and
Annie McKee - Harvard
Business School Press,
March 2004.
The Feiner Points of
Leadership: The 50
Basic Laws That Will
Make People Want to
Perform Better for You,
by Michael Feiner Business Plus, June 14,
2004.
The Leadership
Challenge, by Jim
Kouzes and Barry
Posner - Jossey Bass,
2002.




Research to Practice: Increasing
Retention Through Student
Success (Malitz, . & NixonPonder, S. 2003)
http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Pub
s/0200-11.htm
Staying in a Literacy Program
(Willard, A. 1998)
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=418
Self Efficacy (Bandura, A. 1994)
http://www.emory.edu/EDUCATIO
N/mfp/BanEncy.html
The First Three Weeks: A Critical
Time for Motivation (Quigley, B.
1998)
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=420
3.2
Learning activities
The learning activities include:
 Large and small group presentation
 Online courses
 Webcasts for feedback and coaching
 Electronic surveys
 Discussion boards
 Interim application activities
 Culminating learning project
3.3
Follow Up
6
The Academy series involves a variety of follow up activities that allow program
managers to adapt and apply what they learn to their particular programs. Following
the five face-to-face workshops and online courses, the participants have designated
activities to complete. The charts below show how the follow up activities (indicated as
“fulfillment criteria”) relate to the outcomes and delivery methods.
Module 1: Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Adult Learners
Training Outcomes
Blended Delivery
Certification
Fulfillment Criteria
Workshop: This six-hour
Participants will be able to:
In addition to
workshop will introduce the
participation in
latest research on student
all training activities,
 Examine the latest
persistence and the implications participants will:
research on student
persistence to determine of that research on instructional
delivery, policies and
implications on
1. Engage their staff in
procedures, and professional
instructional practice,
assessing their
policies and procedures, development. We'll examine
current instructional
why some students are 'here
and professional
practices, polices
today and gone tomorrow.' We'll
development;
and procedures, and
also look at the need to keep
professional
episodic learners engaged in
 Explore a variety of
development that
instruction during their
instructional and
support student
management strategies temporary hiatus from class
persistence;
attendance. A variety of
that promote student
instructional and programmatic 2. Respond to Program
persistence;
strategies will be illustrated to
Improvement
help participants determine
 Examine professional
Decision Points; and
development options that those that would be most
can help teachers/tutors appropriate for increasing
3. Post responses in
student persistence in their
support student
their electronic
individual program.
persistence; and
portfolio.

Review a template for a
student persistence
learning project
Webcast:
During a one-hour webcast,
participants will discuss their
experiences with assessing,
prioritizing and planning the
integration of student
persistence strategies into their
program
7
Module 2: The Leadership Approach to Program Improvement: How Leaders Inspire,
Influence, and Achieve Results
Training Outcomes
Online Course
Certification
Fulfillment Criteria
Web-based:
Participants will be able to:
In addition to
Although your position as a
participation in
program manager gives you the all training activities, you
Define the term leadership and
explain the dynamics of a leader- authority to accomplish certain will:
tasks and objectives in your
follower relationship.
program, this power does not
1. Develop or refine,
make you a leader...it simply
with input from staff,
§ State key characteristics
makes you the boss. Leadership
a vision, mission
of effective leaders.
differs in that it makes the
statement, and/or
§ Analyze their own
followers want to achieve high
guiding principles to
leadership style.
goals. To inspire your adult
guide your adult
§ Differentiate between
education staff into higher levels
education program;
their role as a manager of teamwork, there are certain
2.
Respond to
and a leader.
things you must be, know, and,
Program
§ Engage their staff in
do. These do not come naturally
Improvement
developing a vision,
but are acquired through
Decision Points; and
mission, and core values continual work and study. Good
3. Post responses in
to guide program
leaders are not born; they
your electronic
operations.
develop through a never ending
portfolio.
§ Apply leadership
process of self-study, education,
strategies to issues they training, and experience. This
face in their adult
course will help you through that
education program.
process.
This six-hour online course
takes a look at the
characteristics of effective
leaders and gives you a chance
to examine your own leadership
style. Then we’ll review some
critical skills that are necessary
for effective adult education
leaders and ways you can
transfer those skills into action.
While there are many definitions
of leadership, one element that
all have in common is the need
for a vision. We’ll look at the
important role that a vision
statement, mission, and core
values can play in moving your
staff and program to higher
levels of performance.
Throughout the course, you will
have opportunities to assess
your current skills and apply key
leadership concepts to the
issues you face as a program
manager.
8
Module 3: Getting Instructors Off to the Right Start and Keeping Them There
Training Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
Apply research, data, and self
assessment information to get
new instructors/tutors off to a
good start;
Explore the components and
available resources of an
orientation model for new ABE
and ESL instructional providers;
Consider decision points
necessary to adapt an effective
new teacher orientation process
to your program;
Examine strategies for
maintaining a quality, engaged
instructional staff.
Blended Delivery
Workshop: This six-hour
workshop will introduce key
concepts related to orienting
new instructional providers in
addition to models and
resources that can be adapted
for the orientation process. The
workshop will also include
professional development
research on maintaining a
quality instructional workforce
and strategies for keeping
instructors motivated and
engaged in continuous
improvement.
Webcast:
During a one-hour webcast,
participants will discuss their
experiences with prioritizing and
planning components of an
effective orientation process for
new instructional providers
Certification
Fulfillment Criteria
In addition to
participation in
all training activities,
participants will:
1. Engage their staff
in assessing,
refining. and
strengthening their
current new
instructor
orientation
process;
2. Respond to
Program
Improvement
Decision Points;
and
3. Post responses in
their electronic
portfolio.
Culminating Learning Project
Participants will:
1. select one identified need from the program self assessment, research, or data
activities;
2. develop a program improvement plan to address that need;
3. post the plan;
4. pilot it for a minimum of three months, and
5. post the results in their electronic portfolio.
Participants post their interim activities and culminating learning project to an online
electronic portfolio. The submissions are reviewed by the trainers using a developed rubric to
ensure valid results. Scoring results of eligible participants are forwarded to the certification
manager of ProLiteracy America for issuance of the national certification recognition.
Participants who attend all of the workshops, complete the online courses and satisfactorily
complete all of the interim activities and culminating learning project receive national
certification in program improvement.
During the webcasts that follow each workshop, program managers participate with
colleagues from other states giving them the opportunity to discuss their interim activities,
review challenges and successes they experienced, and receive feedback and resource
recommendations.
3.4
Role of school leaders
9
While this professional development series is designed for local program managers, it is
important to note that the adult education teachers and other staff members will play an
important part in the completion of interim activities and the culminating learning project.
Adult education research indicates that one of the best ways to change teacher practice is to
involve them in the decision making process. Successful completion of the interim activities
and culminating project will necessitate program managers to involve their staff in identifying
and analyzing needs and planning and implementing pilot tests.
4. Evaluation Plan
4.1. How will the educator demonstrate achievement of the performance outcomes?
Achievement of the performance outcomes will be demonstrated through the
successful completion of the interim activities and culminating learning project as
measured by the scoring rubric.
What is the anticipated impact on student learning?
It is anticipated that student learning will be impacted through improved delivery of
instructional and programmatic services as a result of the identification of program and
professional development needs, the selection of promising practices, and the
development and implementation of a program improvement plan to address prioritized
needs.
Were follow up activities conducted, as described?
Follow up activities, as described, are conducted and monitored by ProLiteracy
America.
What outcome data will be collected and what is the plan for analyzing the data?
The Leadership Excellence Academy is a national professional development and
certification pilot project sponsored by NAEPDC and ProLiteracy America. Formative
and summative data are collected throughout the project to measure the effectiveness
of the project and determine necessary changes. Program managers are actively
involved in the evaluation process and provide recommendations for future revisions
and development. The outcomes that are measured and evaluated include:
 The practicality and usefulness of interim learning activities and a culminating
learning project
4.2

The evaluation of the effectiveness of a blended training model that combines faceto-face, online courses, and Webcasts.

The relevancy of the training content.

The ability to assist states in building and expanding their professional
development system for program managers by exploring delivery options and
incentives.
Data analysis and reporting on the evaluation results
Evaluation data will be analyzed to determine:
 The satisfaction level of the participants related to the practicality and usefulness of
interim learning activities and the culminating learning project, the relevancy of the
training content and delivery, and the effectiveness of a blended training model;
 The quality of the products (interim activities and culminating learning project)
developed by the participants; and
 The usefulness of the Academy design in expanding state’s professional
development systems for local program managers.
10
5. Timeline
5.1. Time for necessary participation
Participation in all of the required activities for EDAD 5900 301 will total approximately
117 hours.
This includes:

Participation in:
o Two 6-hour face-to-face workshops – 12 hours
o One 6-hour online course - 6 hours
o Three 1-hour Webcasts – 3 hours

Completion and submission of interim activities between the face-to-face
workshops – 40 hours

Completion and submission of a culminating learning project – 56 hours
11