Arthur E. Levine, President of Columbia University, has stated, "Our country needs skilled education leaders more than it has ever before, and our schools of education aren't preparing those people. And there are ways that they could change that would prepare those people." (Education Week, March 16, 2005, p.1).

Nowhere is the challenge of redefining the roles, strengthening the competence, and providing adequate support for leaders more crucial than in the area of special education. There is a critical need for school district and school leaders to have full access to the best available research and practical wisdom and to receive strong support in transforming that knowledge into high-quality performance and continuous improvement for themselves and for those they lead. This continuous improvement must be grounded in high professional standards, guided by intense collaboration among key special education constituents, and evaluated on the basis of its impact upon participants' performance as leaders of efforts to increase the effectiveness of teachers and others in providing the best education possible for students with special needs. These special education improvement efforts also must be considered within the broader context and rising pressures of more sweeping standard-based reforms, high stakes assessments and a proliferation of comprehensive school improvement models from which our schools must choose.           

This initiative is designed to address the critical gaps between the traditional preparation of urban special education mid-level administrators and the skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed for full implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004. The effort will provide leadership development, mentoring and focused networking opportunities for mid-level special education leaders in urban school districts. The integrated curricula and practicum experiences will include cross-cutting work on the substantive content and strategies of high quality special education programs in urban settings as well as on related legal, fiscal, assessment and management-organizational issues. Particular attention will be paid to effective collaboration between special and general educators and to collaboration between educators and family, community and service agency representatives.

The University of Central Florida will partner with the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative, a national network of the special education leadership of more than 80 urban school districts. The project will provide three major outcomes: (1) Development of a model program for an Education Doctorate (Ed.D.) degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Special Education Leadership for urban special education administrators; (2) Creation of a cadre of experts in special education urban leadership to act as a National Faculty which will aid in instructing the doctoral candidates and provide ongoing advice for the implementation and assessment of the initiative, (3) Graduation of twelve (12) urban special education administration fellows with the Ed.D. degree to serve as leaders in their respective schools systems and as new members of the National Faculty which will form the core of a national network of urban special education leaders. If you are interested please attend the informational session provided by your district.