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Principals from Illinois, Louisiana Receive U.Va. School Turnaround Specialist Credentials

Newswise - The University of Virginia's Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE) awarded the School Turnaround Specialist Credential to principals from Louisiana and Illinois on January 23. At the awards ceremony, U.Va.'s President, Teresa Sullivan, presented the keynote speech.

The principals earned the credential by completing all modules of the two-year PLE program and significantly raising student achievement in schools that had been chronically low-performing. District leaders who aided the turnaround effort were also recognized.

The principals and district leaders recognized were:

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Brenda Wilkinson, Principal, Winbourne Elementary School; Sandra Douglas, Principal, Claiborne Elementary School; Kirk Guidry, East Baton Rouge School System; Sheila Guidry, Louisiana Department of Education

The PLE, supported by the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and the Curry School of Education, is the most established school turnaround program in the country and the only such program that uses a systemic approach to change by working with schools, districts and states to build internal capacity. In 2008, the UVA School Turnaround Specialist Program was selected as a national finalist for the Pioneer Institute's Better Government Competition.

The Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education has received national attention through its collaborations with some 82 school districts in 12 states.

Source: NewsWise