History
In 1996, Dr. Richard C. Wallace, founded The Forum for Western Pennsylvania for School Superintendents. Known as The Forum, it was patterned after the Danforth Foundation's successful Forum for The American School Superintendent of which he was co-chair. Dr. Wallace, a retired superintendent and a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, sought and received fiscal support first from Danforth and later from regional foundations to initiate a first-rate professional development program for a diverse group of western Pennsylvania superintendents. Subsequently Dr. Susan Goodwin, a retired superintendent and a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, joined Dr. Wallace as a co-director of the program.
Fifty superintendents were selected for membership. The group, diverse in geography, gender and race, included many of the region’s top educational leaders. Since its foundation over a decade ago, The Forum has met two times in every year. An advisory board that included representatives of regional universities as well as superintendents has planned its bi-annual meetings. Through a consistent and thorough evaluation system, every Forum sponsored professional development activity has received constructive and affirmative feedback from its participants. The advisory board has used the evaluation for both reporting and formative purposes.
The group is very unified and continues to be guided by its original theme of: The Superintendent as Advocate for Children and Youth.
Progress and Development
Over the years, a strong bond emerged in this community of learners. Its advocacy for children and youth has resulted in programs that have yielded results in many areas, including but not limited to instructional leadership, early childhood education, high school reform, and technology in schools. New understandings and respect have emerged among educational leaders of differing races, genders and experiences who represent school districts of varied size, socio-economic conditions and geography.
These robust relationships have brought about collaboration among and between school districts, principals, teachers and students. Recent Forum activities have included:
- The creation of advocacy groups in the following areas:
- Early Childhood Education
- Teacher and Principal Preparation
- Funding for Public Education
- Principal Professional Development
- Public Education
These advocacy groups are designed to study and report on their topics to the larger group. For example, the Early Childhood group created a CD for superintendents to use as they presented to community groups on the topic and its value to children and to the community. While the funding advocacy group invited former a former state representative, Ron Cowell, to present. Superintendents and Forum colleagues explored issues of equity and school funding with Cowell, currently President of the Education Policy and Leadership Center.
- As part of a yearlong study of high school reform, students from Forum high schools as varied as Bedford, Wilkinsburg, Quaker Valley, South Fayette, Pine Richland and others spent several days visiting each other and exploring issues of equity, curriculum, instruction and school culture. The students and their principals attended a meeting of The Forum and shared their observations and experiences with the superintendents.
Superintendents read the book School of Dreams and had the opportunity to discuss issues surrounding a high expectation, rigorous California high school with their colleagues and with School of Dreams author, Ed Humes.
- Collaborative activities with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development regarding quality education, workforce development and issues of regional success.
- A visit to The Forum and discussion of state reform initiatives with Education Secretary, Jerry Zahorchak.
- A focus on the curriculum and standard-driven instruction, based upon Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind and Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. Followed by a thorough examination of the potential of technology as viewed by Blended Schools, a non-profit consortium of Pennsylvania school districts who are collaborating to offer on-line education and tools at affordable costs to school districts.
- A panel of outstanding and diverse regional citizens and business leaders representing Leadership Pittsburgh, The World Affairs Council, The University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University and the Arts Education Collaborative discussed the state of regional public education, global competitiveness, the impact of No Child Left Behind and the importance of right brain thinking in our changing world.