Florida State University offers a unique leadership program for school library media specialists, focusing on National Board Certification. The visionary research program has recently established a pilot project with 30 teacher leaders who will receive funding and support to attend the graduate program at FSU. Dr. Eliza Dresang and Dr. Nancy Everhart, coordinators of the program, talked with KQW about their work and its potential:
What motivated or inspired you (both) to develop this program?
The school media program at Florida State University has always been highly regarded. It is ranked number 5 in the nation according to the latest U.S. News and World Report of Graduate programs. But we wanted to take it to the next level. National Board Certification is strongly focused on leadership and is nationally recognized as the highest credential in the teaching profession. Since Florida has the second highest number of National Board Certified media specialists in the nation, as well as provides substantial financial incentives for National Board Certification, it seemed like a natural fit. In addition, Florida State University launched a multi-year leadership initiative around the same time.
What research frames the goals of the program?
The project's goal is to develop graduate education opportunities focused on leadership for school library media specialists. The project's objectives are (1) to create an online curriculum that integrates the tenets of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2) to increase the probability that candidates will qualify for National Board Certification in library media (3) to develop a recruitment plan to attract students and (4) to institute a program of related research. The graduate programs developed are a 12-credit leadership certificate that can be taken within the master's degree, as a post-master's stand- alone certificate, or as part of a specialist degree focused on leadership. All courses focus on the knowledge and critical thinking skills associated with organizational leadership. The program is completely online.
The research that frames the goals was gathered systematically from many sources. You can view them in the diagram below. An upcoming article concerning this will be appearing in the next issue of the Journal for Library and Information Science Education, “Integrating Research Results and National Board Certification Standards into a Leadership Curriculum for School Library Media Specialists.”
How did the funding and support come about?
Funding has come from both internal and external sources. As mentioned FSU has a focus on leadership and has contributed to the development and implementation of the program. Two grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program were obtained. The first was for "building institutional capacity" and provided us with funding for one year to develop the curriculum. The second was for master's programs and in essence is allowing us to pilot the test the curriculum on a cohort of thirty teacher leaders from throughout Florida who aspire to be school library media specialist leaders.
Who are the participants? How were they chosen?
We hoped to attract participants for all three levels from across the United States and we have begun to do that. We expect Project LEAD to exist at FSU for many years to come. Students in Project LEAD must meet the FSU requirements for either the master's or specialist degree program, depending on their focus, and also they must write an essay focusing on their vision of school library media specialist leadership.
The 30 teacher leaders funded from the IMLS grant had to meet the master's degree requirements but had additional ones since they are receiving fully funded fellowships. They had to be recommended by his/her principal and the principal filled out a 30-item rubric. And they had to answer five short essay questions pertaining to their classroom leadership in reading, technology, instructional collaboration, and other areas.
Why is it important for Florida? For other programs in the U.S.?
In addition to Florida's support of National Board Certification, Florida is an extremely diverse state. What can be successful in Florida can be replicated in many other parts of the United States. Also, media specialists in Florida play extremely important roles as technology leaders - most run a TV studio. But in Florida, as in other states, the focus on reading has intensified. And in Project LEAD we are teaching media specialists to be proactive in the teaching of reading, not just in literature appreciation.
How is this program different from other programs for school librarians?
The National Board focus definitely makes it unique. The four leadership courses correspond to the four portfolio entries in library media, and, of course, the focus of the library media specialist as a school leader. We are also building a learning community with Project LEAD participants.
What hopes/expectations/goals do you have for the participants?
We hope that the media specialists WILL become leaders in their schools and positively impact student achievement. We also want them to become leaders at the state and national levels. One of the requirements for our fellows is that they join the Florida Association for Media in Education and AASL. They also are receiving funding to attend one state and one national school library conference but they will be volunteering at these conferences and getting involved in committees. | 
