Forming Collaborative Partnerships on a Statewide Level to Develop Quality School Leaders

Abstract

In 2004, the New Jersey Department of Education mandated that all leadership preparation programs in the state align with the Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortia standards. In response, 17 preparation programs established a chapter of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration. In this article, we describe how this chapter helped build a collaborative professional learning community across the state. The collaborative work revealed that field practitioners challenged our values and beliefs and also made substantive contributions to revising preparation programs. Now more in touch with how to improve preparation programs to meet the accountability press, we continue the dialogue with our field partners.