"UB Professor Gets $50,000 to Research School Principals"

A corporate grant given to Dr. Stephen Jacobson may help the Graduate School of Education lead the way in developing strong academic leaders.

Jacobson, the associate dean for academic affairs, received $50,000 from the Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund - which, according to its Web site, is dedicated to creating "opportunities for people to enrich themselves through better schools, enhanced community activities and participation in the arts" - to study successful school leaders who work in high-poverty areas.

In the study, which he expects to be completed by 2005, Jacobson is examining six principals from various schools in Buffalo and Rochester, who, despite the poor economic areas in which the schools are located, are successful leaders.

"Clearly this is something that has been long overdue," Jacobson said. "We want to get a good handle on what it is that makes a difference in schools where you don't expect this type of success."

Jacobson said the principals intrigued him because they all lead students that perform exceptionally well.

"These particular leaders are producing student achievement scores that are on par with other schools in the district and, in many cases, higher than schools that by all measures should be more successful," he said. "We're trying to understand what they contribute."

According to Corrie Giles, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy and a co-investigator on the research team, the study is unique in nature, because studies of schools in poor areas typically scrutinize failure and problems within the school.

"We are not looking for schools that are failing," Giles said. "We are looking for schools that clearly are identifiable as successful in terms of results and teaching."

"I think we will have a better picture of what constitutes effective leadership," he added. "I think that will help to further the way we develop our future."

According to Jacobson, his study grows out of a larger international effort currently underway.

"There are other countries that are doing the same type of thing," Jacobson said. "They are looking at the attributes of successful school leadership."

By researching these principals, graduate students who are going into the field of education will be able to learn from them, said Jacobson.

"I'd like to get a better handle on what it is we can do here at the university to prepare people so they can develop those skills that can lead to this type of success when they get out there in practice," he said.

Although the names of the schools involved in Jacobson's research are not being released, a principal from one of the schools, who asked to remain anonymous, discussed the qualities that make a principal successful.

"Important visionary leaders need to have the skills to communicate," the principal said. "They need to have goals that are workable and achievable."

Both the principal and Jacobson said the teachers play an important role in making schools successful. However, Jacobson said, principals are the focal point in the study because of their ability to bring out the best in high quality teachers.

"Principals work through their teachers," Jacobson said. "It's the teachers who have the most direct impact on the children."

"Staff members must get the support they need," the principal said. "Also, the leader needs to be able to enable the staff to assess where they are going."

"You never get far from the teachers," said Jacobson.

The principal also said students' success can be attributed to their parents.

"We always need to get the parents involved," the principal said. "We try to get parent involvement so that the student can learn better. We rely on each other to tap into each other's strengths."