88 PREPARATION OF SCHOOL LEADERS
of traditional expectations and new accountability standards, “the principal appears to have
the worst of both worlds ...” (pp. 138–139). Such an environment can be frustrating and
troubling to a veteran principal. To a new principal, with little or no building-level experience
to draw upon, this setting can be traumatic personally and professionally.
While new principals are working with these rising expectations across the United States,
a demographic shift is taking place in the workforce around them. According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (2008), a large number of school administrators are expected to retire in the
coming decade. This exodus will produce a significant number of new vacancies in the
principalship. Some of the questions accompanying the arrival of a new generation of
principals include: With so many veteran principals leaving the profession, who will serve as
mentors to new principals? How will school districts adapt to provide sustained leadership
development for school principals in the age of accountability? Will a trend develop to move
new leaders into the principalship on a fast-track, without sufficient preparation as an
assistant principal? With these variables at work, public school principals may be more
susceptible to both burnout and/or derailment without appropriate interventions and
preparation (Brubaker & Coble, 2007; Holloman, Rouse, & Farrington, 2006)
CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Eastern North Carolina is predominantly a rural and agricultural area that has traditionally
demonstrated higher levels of poverty than other geographic regions in North Carolina. East
Carolina University is located in Greenville, North Carolina, and was founded in 1907 for the
purpose of supplying much-needed teachers to rural schools throughout the region. While
East Carolina has evolved over the past century to include a medical school and a myriad of
degree programs, the commitment to education in eastern North Carolina has remained the
University’s major focus. This strong commitment to eastern North Carolina is integrated into
all aspects of the university’s vision and has become the engine which drives efforts to
support and serve public schools within the network covering much of the Northeast, North
Central, and Southeast Regions of the state (see Figure 1).
IMPLEMENTING A COLLABORATIVE SERVICE MODEL
The Department of Educational Leadership at East Carolina University has utilized a
collaborative approach to focus on the specific needs of education leaders in eastern North
Carolina. With a strong emphasis on both national and state standards, this model has offered
a challenging and relevant set of pre-service experiences for students. Examples of initiatives
produced by this collaborative process include:
21 st Century School Administrator Skills Program (SAS)
This includes 80+ MSA interns participating in a 3-day enrichment activity for
professional growth. Each participant is given an administrative position within a simulated
school district. Throughout the simulation, students participate in role play and interact with
colleagues and visitors to complete a series of in-basket exercises and system-level
challenges. The interactions and interpersonal relationships that result from these activities
provide opportunities to demonstrate key leadership behaviors. Once the simulation is
complete, participants share feedback with one another. These data provide clear and