Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of profiles of the Wisconsin Idea in action. See past profiles we have published.

Schools across the United States today face more pressure than ever to boost student performance levels and close the gaps in achievement between students of different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. While many schools are struggling to make adequate progress, others have developed strategies that are contributing to significant improvements.

Educational researchers at UW–Madison have closely examined successful schools with the aim of finding lessons for others. That examination led the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) to create a new cohort approach to the department’s existing Ph.D. program, called the Wisconsin Idea Executive Ph.D. in Educational Leadership.

The program’s goal is to prepare educational leaders to dramatically improve public schools.

“We wanted something embedded in someone’s career,” says James Shaw, Wisconsin’s 2001 Superintendent of the Year, who joined ELPA in 2003 as a clinical professor after 10 years as superintendent of the Menomonee Falls School District. “We wanted to target district-level leaders in a new way, with a focus on equity and social justice.”

Shaw, who earned his Ph.D. from the department in 1990, is the program’s director, and Colleen Capper and Allan Odden, both professors in the department, are faculty advisers.

Capper says Dane County’s superintendents greeted the concept with enthusiasm and were among those who helped to shape the structure. “They saw this as really making a difference in the schools.”

“Our current programs are driven by our collective commitment to three critical elements — equity, inquiry, and reflective practice,” says Paul Bredeson, ELPA chair and professor. He sees the initiative as another way for ELPA “to connect in meaningful ways the daily work and challenges of K–12 educators to research on exemplary practices leading to success for all students.”

The three-and-a-half-year program was launched in July with a diverse, 26-member class, which consists of 23 current administrators and three teachers with leadership experience. The group includes 18 women, three African Americans, one Latino and one Native American. A dozen people are urban educators from Milwaukee and Madison, eight come from suburban districts and six work in small rural districts.

All are passionate and assertive in pursuit of their common goals, Capper says.

“This group is committed to making a difference in schools. They’re fired up and they have high expectations. They have a sense of urgency. They’re all looking for strategies they can use right now,” says Capper.

Shaw points to the major representation from the state’s two largest school districts —. five each from Milwaukee and Madison — among those who’ve come together to focus on improving schools.

Committed to a mission

Cohort members say they signed up mostly because the program emphasizes social justice and equity, focuses on putting high-quality research into practice, and brings together a dedicated group of peers to work with top scholars to address critical concerns.

“Learning to apply theory to practice is a huge motivator for me as I lead the Madison Metropolitan School District in our race and equity work,” says Lisa M. Black, special assistant to the superintendent for race and equity.

“It may sound a bit geeky, but I’m thrilled to be part of such a collaborative and to be in school again,” Black says. “Having access to some of the top scholars in the country, or world for that matter, is exciting. … I’m excited about being exposed to diversity of thought and experience, in addition to nurturing my passion for learning how to become a staunch advocate and leader for social justice for all students.”

“The central focus on social justice, equity and excellence in urban education … allows me to develop professional and quality insight on how to effectively engage other educators around providing a more equitable education for all students, particularly students of color and low income status,” says Eric Gallien, principal of Milwaukee’s Parkview Elementary School. “As an African American male who has experienced first hand many of the inequities that exist within K–12 education, this was a huge draw for me.”

Thus far, Gallien says, “I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of instruction and the level of commitment of the instructors to the mission of this program. I am also impressed and encouraged by the quality of the students embarked on the journey with me.”

“I was hesitant about pursuing the advanced degree because of the demands of the job and my family,” says Alan Harris, principal of Madison East High School. “When I was told about the program by a couple of professors, I was very excited.”

Harris says, “It means a great deal that the institution is interested in empowering practitioners to pursue the doctoral degree. Just as important is the mission of the cohort to focus on the issues of minority achievement in public education. It makes the work not only interesting but practical.”

“Although the Ph.D. at the end will be great, especially from such a highly accredited institution, that’s not really why I decided to do this,” says Sheila Briggs, elementary lead principal for the Madison school district. “I’m at a point in my career where I really need to feel like I’m moving forward in my thinking. I feel an incredible moral imperative for making a difference in our schools. I feel like we are nearing a tipping point, and if things don’t change soon, our institutions are going to crumble.”

Briggs says, “I feel like this program has been feeding my soul. I’m hopeful that I will continue to grow as a practitioner, and that the rest of the cohort will, as well. I get goose bumps thinking about the impact this group of educators has the potential to make across all our districts.”.

How the program works

During the academic year, students take two courses per semester, offered over five weekends — meeting 4–9 p.m. on Fridays and 8 a.m.–5 p.m. on Saturdays. During the summer, they enroll for nine credits over a 12-week schedule. In addition, the instructors are using online teaching technology to connect with the cohort.

The coursework includes field experiences, district case studies, and the latest research on highly effective school districts and leaders.

Each student, mentored by a superintendent, must complete a project designed to significantly advance student learning. Each also must complete a dissertation focusing on a study of a successful school district or districts.

The program, as envisioned by its leaders, aims to equip each student with a sophisticated set of strategies for using data to raise consciousness about district inequities, making decisions base on data, and empirically evaluating program effectiveness. The ELPA team also expects that these educational leaders, in turn, will pass along their knowledge to others.

According to Shaw, decisions on whether to make the cohort Ph.D. an ongoing program will be made later, once the initial effort has been evaluated.

In the meantime, ELPA aims to continue preparing leaders interested in dramatically improving schools and advancing equity and excellence in teaching and learning through the department’s regular Ph.D. and master’s programs, as well as through the Wisconsin Idea Leadership Academy, with the next one scheduled July 7–10.

To learn more about the Wisconsin Idea Executive Ph.D. Program, the Wisconsin Idea Leadership Academy and other ELPA programs, visit Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis.