Seven Durham public schools will be experimenting with the concept of site-based management this fall with the help of a $10,000 donation from the University.
The University recently delivered the third installment of a three year pledge of $30,000 to the Durham Public Education Network. The gift will be used in a site-based management program, which aims to bring educational decision making to a local level.
The University's first donation helped to support the Durham Communities in Schools Academy, a program developed to prevent at-risk students from dropping out of school, said John Burness, senior vice-president of public affairs for the University and board member of the DPEN. The money from the second gift was distributed on a much more general level, he added.
The goal behind the site-based management plan is to help build a team consisting of parents, teachers and students to help improve education on a more local level, Burness said, adding that decentralized decision making has become a strong movement nationwide and is now penetrating the sphere of education.
The idea behind site-based management is to empower people at the local level to work in a team environment to determine school policies, said Alan Teasley, executive director for professional growth and training for Durham Public Schools, who is currently spearheading efforts to train parents, principals, teachers and students involved with local schools.
People at the point of delivery know how to best manage the school at that level, he added. "Our overall goals are to improve student achievement, to make better use of resources and to increase employee and customer satisfaction."
Deborah Horvitz, director of a consortium for human resources development and school improvement, said the initial introduction to site-based decision making will begin Oct. 24, with a meeting of members from the site-based teams in the Durham community.
Heading the list of speakers is Dr. Carl Glickman, a nationally renowned speaker and specialist in site-based decision making, who will be followed by Tom Houlihan, the governor's senior advisor for education, and Ted Drain, the interim superintendent for Durham Public Schools.
Following this meeting, DPEN is planning to offer a series of workshops on site-based management for public school teachers and administrators, said Jane Tucker, director of training and organizational development at the University and committee member for the site-based management program. Although the topics are not definite, the series will most likely include information on team development, problem solving, group decision making and conflict resolution.
The final installation of the donation is just part of a history of cooperation between the University and DPEN. "The University's commitment goes well beyond financial resources," said Tony Habit, executive director of the DPEN. Habit said the University's relationship with the DPEN dates back to its inception ten years ago. "[Former President] Terry Sanford was a driving force to create the network," Habit said.
Currently, President Nan Keohane and Chancellor Julius Chambers of North Carolina Central University continue to steer the DPEN in its efforts to further student advancement in the Durham community, Habit added.
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