Southern Regional Education Board Research Articles

Somatotrope Responses to Acute and Prolonged Loss of Leptin Signaling

In mice and humans, fasting results in a rise of serum growth hormone (GH). In mice, this coincides with increased Gh and growth hormone releasing hormone receptor (Ghrhr) mRNA. Fasting also results in increased serum ghrelin and decreased serum leptin. We have shown that pituitary somatotropes are dependent on circulating leptin to maintain sufficient stores of GH and GHRHR proteins. We hypothesized that the GH rise seen in fasted mice with reduced serum leptin was due to ghrelin‐stimulated pathways. However, a review of the literature revealed a study by Steyn et al. (2011) which demonstrated an acute decline in GH pulses in male mice after 12–18 h of fasting. This study suggests that somatotropes may have time‐dependent responses, with shorter fasting responses driven by the absence of leptin signals.Our fasting study was composed of three groups of male mice: 1) mice fasted for 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours, 2) mice fasted for 24 and 48 hours with 10% glucose in the drinking water, and 3) mice fed ad libitum. Body weight and serum glucose were significantly reduced with all fasting times. After 6 h of fasting, serum leptin levels were reduced from 9625.63 pg/ml (fed controls) to 1798.15 pg/mL with a further reduction to 774.17 pg/ml after 12 h, which was maintained following 24 and 48 h fasting. Ghrelin levels were unchanged with 6, 12 and 24 h fasting but significantly increased by 55.4% with 48 h fasting. Serum GH was unchanged with 6 and 12 h fasting, but was significantly reduced from 7765 pg/ml (fed) to 2253 pg/ml after the 24 h fast (p=0.03 ANOVA). In the 48 h fasted mice, serum GH was significantly increased over fed mice, from 1828 pg/ml (fed) to 10569 pg/ml (p=0.01 ANOVA). There were significant increases in pituitary Ghrhr mRNA after 24 and 48 h fasting and Gh mRNA was increased after 6 and 48 h of fasting. However, GH and GHRHR content were unchanged.This study has uncovered time‐dependent differential responses to fasting by somatotropes in male mice. The reduced serum GH after 24 h correlated well with the reduction in serum leptin. Similarly, the prolonged fasting (48 h) and elevated serum GH correlated well with the rise in ghrelin. The high Gh and Ghrhr mRNA levels corresponds with rising ghrelin levels. Reduced serum GH at 24 h indicates that somatotropes remain dependent on leptin signals for GH secretion. However, with normal GH or GHRHR content, this points to a defect in a signaling pathway needed for secretion that has yet to be determined.Support or Funding InformationNIH grants 5 R01 HD087057‐03 (GVC and AM), 5 R01 HD 093461‐01 (AM and GVC), and 5 R01 DK113776‐02 (GVC and AM). NIGMS grants P20 GM103425 and P30GM11070 (PI Dr. Edgar Garcia‐Rill). NSF funded Southern Regional Education Board Dissertation Award (TKM).

EFL TEACHERS' CPD EXPERIENCES: PERSPECTIVES FROM OMAN.

EFL TEACHERS' CPD EXPERIENCES: PERSPECTIVES FROM OMAN.

SLCE Partnering with Social Justice Collectives to Dismantle the Status Quo

Service-learning is a multilayered term with a complex historical evolution. The movement traces back to the work of Robert Sigmon and the Southern Regional Education Board in the early 1970s, when it focused on building democratic communities through a combination of meaningful service and deep collaboration. As noted in Zlotkowski's 1995 essay that asked whether service-learning had a future, there came a time in the history of the movement when some of its thought leaders urgently called attention to the necessity for a more academic and scholarly focus. In the last two decades, service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) have flourished in higher education as staff, faculty, and students have realized it can be a high-impact teaching and learning practice to promote student learning and development. While many SLCE courses and projects adopt this student focus in undertaking and reflecting upon useful service activities with community organizations, it can be difficult to implement them in ways that explicitly engage with the historical and contemporary systems of oppression--such as racism, classism, and sexism--that created the need for SLCE efforts in the first place. Tania Mitchell (2008), in fact, proposed a distinction between traditional and service-learning and suggested that the movement must focus on the latter and thereby challenge the foundational systems that uphold an inequitable status quo rather than risk perpetuating oppression through the former. Over the last decade, several other scholars and practitioners have called for a transformation of SLCE toward a practice aligned with social justice goals. Our own unit, the Office of Student Leadership and Service (SLS) at Lewis & Clark College, is moving in this direction with our co-curricular SLCE programs, using the framework of critical service-learning as a guide. Our vision for the future is a radical re-centering of SLCE within social justice collectives (SJCs), such as the organizers of the Movement for Black Lives, led by people from marginalized groups and addressing the systems of oppression most relevant to their own lives. SJCs may be registered nonprofits or non-governmental organizations but are more often, in our experience, unincorporated collaboratives comprised of individuals and groups united around a specific social justice cause. As it has been our experience that SLCE practitioners often rely heavily on nonprofit and school partners to determine the nature of SLCE projects, we are proposing a shift from individual partner organizations to SJCs so that each SLCE effort is firmly situated within a community-verified justice effort. Within this new structure for SLCE, colleges and universities, along with other stakeholders/partners, would follow the leadership of these off-campus collectives working on the frontlines of social justice movements. For this to happen, SLCE practitioners and scholars must first acknowledge the ways in which institutions of higher education can and do perpetuate injustice. Brown University's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice serves as a powerful example of an institution grappling with the harm it has caused and directing resources to partnership efforts that restore community. After such an honest accounting, the calls of local, national, and international movements for justice can be better heard and heeded. Once SJCs and SLCE practitioners are communicating and collaborating, pilot projects can be pursued and partnership agreements drafted around the priorities of social justice movements and the marginalized communities leading them. SLCE for Social Justice Mitchell (2008) provides a useful framework for designing SLCE toward social justice ends, which we understand to relate to both (a) the end goal of resource distribution and access allowing for everyone to not only survive, but also thrive, and (b) the democratic, equitable processes in pursuit of that goal (Bell, 1997). …

A Standards-based Approach to Catholic Principal Preparation: A Case Study

Illinois’ recent redesign of the principal certification program requires the integration of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure (ISLLC) standards as well as the Southern Regional Education Board Critical Success Factors standards into the coursework and internship, establishing a focus on preparation for instructional leadership. The alignment to secular standards poses a challenge for Catholic institutes of higher education who seek to prepare aspiring Catholic school principals to be instructional, managerial, and faith leaders (Ciriello, 1994). During their own redesign, Loyola University Chicago utilized the National Standards and Benchmarks of Effective Catholic Schools to create Catholic School Principal Competencies, a list of skills that principals will need in order to effectively lead a Catholic school. The Catholic School Principal Competencies are embedded in course work, field experiences, and the internship. Other program features including coaching from veteran principals and frequent reflection allow the candidates to gain confidence as well-rounded Catholic school leader. Collaboration with other Catholic universities will help to solidify the Catholic School Principal Competencies and further streamline their integration into the program.

Abstract 4572: Western diet enhances benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]-induced colon tumorigenesis in the PIRC rat model via cytochrome P450 drug metabolizing enzymes

Abstract Colorectal cancer ranks third in terms of mortalities in the United States, with 50,000 deaths per year and around 140,000 new cases expected to be diagnosed in this year. Epidemiological studies have pointed out that obese people have a higher risk for colon cancer. It is well known that overweight or obesity is induced by excess energy intake from dietary fat. Additionally, consumption of well-done red meat and saturated fats, rich in food-borne environmental toxicants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has also been implicated as one of the causative factors for sporadic colon cancer. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary fat type on B(a)P-induced colon cancer in an adult male rat model, the Polyposis In the Rat Colon (PIRC) kindred type. Specifically, this research sets out to determine whether the colon polyp burden potentiated by WD when exposed to B(a)P employed drug metabolizing enymes (cytochrome P450 family) to enhance the effect of the WD. Groups of PIRC rats (n = 5) were fed with AIN-76A regular diet (RD) or Western diet (WD) and received 25, 50 and 100 μg B(a)P/kg body wt. via oral gavage for 60 days. Rats fed the diets alone, but no B(a)P, served as controls. Subsequent to exposure, rats were sacrificed; colons, liver and other tissues were retrieved and preserved in 10% formalin for observation of gross pathological changes. Colon and liver samples were analyzed for activation of drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) CYP1A1, CYP1B1 and GST. Benzo(a)pyrene metabolite concentrations were measured using a HPLC equipped with UV and fluorescence detectors. An increased incidence of adenomas and high grade dysplasia were encountered in rats that were fed with WD compared to RD and controls (p < 0.05). The colon tumor counts were more in B(a)P + WD rats compared to their B(a)P + RD counterparts, and also exhibited a B(a)P dose-response relationship, with 100 μg B(a)P/kg registering greater counts. Adenomas with high grade dysplasia were prominent in B(a)P + WD rats compared to B(a)P + RD rats. Western diet consumption increased DME activation among rats that were given B(a)P + WD with marked increase in enzyme expression and B(a)P metabolite concentrations in rats that were administered 100 μg/kg B(a)P + WD (p < 0.05) compared to other treatment groups. Our results demonstrate that WD accelerates the development of colon tumors induced by B(a)P, utilizing cytochrome P450 metabolic pathways. This research was supported from NIH grants 1F31ESO2407901, 5RO1CA142845-04, 5R25GM059994-11, and Southern Regional Education Board. Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Kelly Harris, Mohammad Niaz, Mary Washington, Aramandla Ramesh. Western diet enhances benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P]-induced colon tumorigenesis in the PIRC rat model via cytochrome P450 drug metabolizing enzymes. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4572. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4572

Southern Regional Education Board: Serving Community Colleges in the South

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan regional compact focused on critical issues with strong potential to improve quality of life by advancing public education. Designed primarily for legislators and other policymakers and policyshapers, SREB’s research is policy-oriented, descriptive, and centered on statewide public education. SREB is a leading information resource and holds decades of national, regional, and state postsecondary data to support the policy work including publications such as the Essential Elements series and other policy briefs. The recent Commission on Community Colleges report, Strengthening readiness and pathways, offers recommendations to foster a robust discussion on the role of these institutions and their potential over the next decade (see www.sreb.org). The commission’s discussions and research underscored three important areas where community colleges are critical: educational attainment, readiness, and pathways. Among the many data points that define this sector, student readiness and cost of attendance stand out. Community colleges are essential to achieve state goals, and SREB’s policy and research activities continue to examine how states and institutions can realistically keep community colleges affordable, given the fluctuations in state support, critical need for support services to assist the student population they serve, and state needs for meeting economic development and workforce goals.

A bold approach to developing leaders for low-performing schools

Prompted by the need for leaders able to turn around chronically low-performing schools, states, universities, education groups, and school districts in the US have initiated a variety of principal development programs. Some programs focus on enhancing the skills of experienced administrators, while others target talented teachers and even individuals with no prior school experience. Nowhere has the quest for turnaround specialists been undertaken with a greater investment of resources or on a larger scale than in Florida, where the state Department of Education in concert with the Southern Regional Education Board has used generous funding from the federal Race to the Top initiative to launch the Florida Turnaround Leaders Program. This article presents an overview of the Florida Turnaround Leaders Program, including its Theory of Action and the Design Principles for Leader Development upon which it is based. Some background information is offered on the circumstances that have led to new approaches to principal preparation, such as the Florida Turnaround Leaders Program. Details are provided concerning the skill sets encompassed by the training and the key assignments required of all participants. Finally, issues and obstacles encountered in the process of designing and implementing the Florida Turnaround Leaders Program are also addressed.

Supporting Young Adolescents’ Middle-to-High-School Transition by Creating a Ninth Grade Community of Care: Implications for Middle Grades Educators

Authors discuss the importance of middle-to-high school transitions and highlight the importance of collaboration between middle and high school teachers as essential for healthy adolescent development beyond the middle grades.Difficulties associated with the middle-to-high-school transitionThe middle-to-high-school transition and the first year of high school are critical periods in students' lives. According to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), passage of students from the middle grades to high school is the most difficult transition point in education (2002, p. 24). Although there are many different types of grade configurations, most students make the transition into high school between eighth and ninth grade. Regardless of grade configuration, many incoming high school students are deciding whether to stay or leave school during the first weeks of the school year (Hertzog & Morgan, 1999). Ninth grade failure rates are as high as 40% in many lower-performing, high-poverty urban schools throughout the United States (Balfanz & Letgers, 2004). Nationwide, 30% of all freshmen do not graduate high school with a diploma (EPE Research Center, 2006), and 6% of all dropouts leave school by the beginning of their 10th grade year (Mizelle, 1999). One possible reason this period of schooling is so difficult is a potential developmental mismatch between students' needs and their new, often larger, and traditionally organized high school environment (Eccles, 2004; Eccles & Midgley, 1989; Eccles et al., 1993; National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2006). It is vitally important that high schools implement structures and programs that ease the transition and allow school personnel to get to know incoming students; meet their developmental needs, including their social and academic needs (Eccles et al., 1993); and encourage them to become valued, integrated members of a caring community at school (Battistich, Solomon, Watson, & Schaps, 1997; Schussler & Collins, 2006). A community of care can be defined as a school culture in which students and teachers care about and support each other, individuals' needs are satisfied within a group setting, and members feel a sense of belonging and identification with the group (Ellerbrock & Kiefer, 2010).National Middle School Association's This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (2010) highlights 16 characteristics of successful schools for young adolescents, including educators that understand the uniqueness of young adolescents, schools that organize into structures that help to promote meaningful relationships, and school environments that are established to promote emotional well-being. In recent years, high schools around the nation have recognized the importance of supporting their younger adolescent students' needs during the middle-to-high-school transition. High schools have begun implementing developmentally responsive school structures and programs (e.g., small learning communities) for ninthgrade students to help foster a personalized environment that meets the unique needs of adolescents, promotes a sense of community and care, and bolsters academic success. Middle grades educators can help students with this transition by gaining insight into how high schools are identifying the needs of young adolescents and by considering ways they can help meet those needs in collaboration with their high school colleagues (Hertzog & Morgan, 1999).Middle grades educators can teach foundational skills and ensure a sense of continuity to help young adolescents successfully navigate the middle-to-highschool transition. The purpose of this article is to share with middle level educators how one high school attempted to meet the needs of young adolescents by offering a transition program as part of a ninth grade small learning community. This article also highlights ways middle grades educators can help support students during this important period of transition. …

Libraries and student persistence at southern colleges and universities

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to determine whether or how academic libraries affect student achievement.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses computation of Pearson's r coefficients and predictor values for correlations of academic library statistics with first‐year retention and six‐year graduation rates reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System by Southern Regional Education Board four‐year colleges and universities in 2010.FindingsBook collection size in doctoral university libraries has the strongest correlation with retention and graduation rates, in the sample, and predicts for every 10 percent increase a 0.5 percent improvement in retention and a 0.7 percent higher graduation rate.Originality/valueThe paper documents the first impact study to correlate library statistics with both retention and graduation rates from a large sample of doctoral, Masters' and bachelors' degree‐conferring institutions. It calculates 21 predictor values of interest to academic administrators.

Revenues and e-learning: do universities need an online presence?

In this paper, we examine the role of e-learning enrolments in revenue functions for four-year public universities. Many universities have moved into e-learning as a resource to overcome the funding shortfall which has been an outcome of the recent economic climate. It is hypothesised that an e-learning presence will enhance revenues for universities in varying capacities. We use panel data from the Department of Education and the Southern Regional Education Board, covering the years 2006–2008. We estimate a fixed effects regression to control for unobserved heterogeneity across universities. Results indicate that e-learning enrolment decreases revenue derived from state appropriations. One possible explanation is that traditional universities have found a new revenue outlet in e-learning that decreases the need for state funding. Our results lend support for universities seeking to break away from being a public entity and towards a profit maximising firm.

Legislative: Nursing Distance Learning Programs and State Board of Nursing Authorizations

In October 2010, the United States (U.S.) Department of Education published in the Federal Register the final regulations on program integrity for Higher Education. One area of the final regulations related to authorization of distance education programs. This regulation impacted distance learning programs that resided in one state, but offered enrollment to students in another state. It clarified the need for an out-of-state educational institution that offers distance learning, including online education or correspondence study to students, to seek State approval in all states in which they would have students. The deadline for this approval was set for July 1, 2011. For purposes of the 2011-2012 academic year, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) agreed to consider an institution of higher education to be making a good faith effort to comply with this mandate if the institution had applied for approval, if the institution was able to document receipt of an application to the State, or if the institution had notified the Department of Education when it had been approved.In April of 2011, after these regulations had been published, the U.S. Department of Education released a moratorium on the authorization regulation prior to the deadline for implementation. The Department released a 'Dear Colleague' letter that extended the enforcement date to July 1, 2014. However, in that letter the Department of Education clarified that it still expected institutions of higher education offering distance learning programs to demonstrate good faith efforts to identify and obtain necessary State authorization before that date. Evidence of good faith efforts included any of the following: documentation that an institution has contacted a State directly to discuss programs the institution is providing to students in that State; documentation that an institution is developing a distance education management process for tracking students; an application made to a State, even if not yet approved; and documentation from a State that an application is pending. Because overall compliance with the regulation would not be required until 2014, most institutions of higher education offering distance learning programs have made these good faith efforts by contacting the State to discuss distance education programs offered in the State and to determine the State's individual requirements for program approval.Universities in many states are working to develop model agreements of reciprocity. In this model, if an institution of higher learning is approved in its own state, approval will be recognized by the partner state(s). Many regional compacts, including the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), and the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE), are getting involved. These compact reciprocity agreements would cover many, but not all, activities In partner states. The draft agreement for authorization reciprocity is planned for release in the summer of 2012, with final agreement in early fall, 2012.On February 28, 2012, The U.S. House of Representatives passed H. R. 2117, the Protecting Academic Freedom In Higher Education Act, which prohibits the Department of Education from overreaching into academic affairs and program eligibility under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, by a vote of 303-114. This essentially repeals a regulation called the state authorization rule which ensures that colleges adhere to laws validating that they have the authorization to operate in the state, and requires higher education institutions offering distance education programs to meet requirements/approval in any in which a student might be located and receiving his/her education. The Senate version of the bill has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and has not yet come to vote. …

Measuring Change in Leadership Identity and Problem Framing

In recent years, significant attention has been directed to the need for more and better-prepared educational leaders (Young, Crow, Murphy & Ogawa, 2009). While many organizations prepare school principals, evidence of program impact is sparse (Orr & Pounder, 2008; Southern Regional Education Board, 2008). The study described in this article seeks to examine the effects of purposefully designed collaborative learning experiences, as delivered through a university–district principal preparation partnership, on program participants. The article describes the first phase of the research: the examination of baseline candidate leadership perceptions, which led to the development of leadership identity and problem-framing research continua intended to assess participants’ preprogram perceptions. The continua include five stages of leadership identity development and five types of problem framing. Preliminary findings indicate striking differences among program candidates’ placement along these continua. Future stages of this research project will assess postprogram impact.

Abstract 1334: Benzo(a)pyrene concentration-dependent biotransformation and cytotoxicity in HT-29 colon cells

Abstract The majority of sporadic cancer deaths are attributed to environmental factors of which exposure to environmental toxicants is one. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a member of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) family of compounds is one such ubiquitous environmental toxicant; found in charcoal broiled/smoked meats, cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, and industrial emissions. High levels of BaP have been detected in fat-rich foods such as dairy products, barbecued pork sausage, and beef meat. Since diet makes up a substantial amount of BaP intake (∼ 3 – 17 mg/person/day); ingested BaP contributing to gastrointestinal (GI) carcinogenesis deserves attention. Studies conducted using a mouse model in our laboratory has already shown that BaP contributes to colon cancer development. Through metabolic activation, BaP is biotransformed into an array of metabolites. Biotransformation of BaP proceeds through specific biochemical pathways (epoxide and quinone) each one producing specific reactive metabolites that bind with DNA, cause DNA damage and associated changes in cell cycle. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of BaP that are most toxic to HT-29 human colon cells and examine if any relationship exist between cellular toxicity and BaP biotransformation. Cells were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium: Nutrient Mixture F-12 (DMEM/F12) supplemented with 10% FBS and antibiotics (penicillin/streptomycin). After revival of cells and growing them to confluence, cells were synchronized overnight by serum starvation method. The HT-29 cells were exposed to 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100μM BaP over the course of 10 days and then counted using a Coulter Counter. Based on a concentration – response study 5, 10, and 25 μM BaP in DMSO (vehicle for BaP; 0.01%) were selected as optimal concentrations to analyze the effect of BaP on cell growth, viability, biochemical, and molecular endpoints 4 days after BaP exposure. The expression of both Phase I and II drug metabolizing enzymes were analyzed by western blot and RT-PCR. Analysis of cell cycle via FACS showed inhibition of the S and G2-phase in cells treated with increasing concentrations of BaP. An increase in CYP 1A1 and 1B1 expression also occurred in a BaP concentration-dependent manner. However, not much difference was seen in Phase II metabolizing enzyme expression levels regardless of the BaP concentrations tested. Our results suggest that BaP cytotoxicity is mediated by metabolic activation (funded by the NIH grants 5T32HL007735-12, 1RO1CA142845-01A1, 1S11ES014156-01A1 and Southern Regional Education Board). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1334. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1334

Pain Coping Strategies for Tension-Type Headache: Possible Implications for Insomnia?

Insomnia has been identified as a risk factor for tension-type headache, although the pathogenesis of sleep disturbance in this population is unclear. The present study examined pain-related self-management strategies in a nonclinical, young-adult sample for preliminary evidence to support a novel hypothesis for the development of insomnia in this population. Self-report data on triggers of headache, pain interference with sleep, and pain-related self-management strategies were analyzed for 32 women with tension-type headache and 33 women with minimal pain who served as controls. The results revealed that a significantly greater proportion of the headache group relative to the control group reported sleep problems as a trigger of headaches, stress as a trigger of headache, and going to sleep as a coping strategy for pain. The headache group also reported significantly higher ratings of pain interference with sleep. Going to sleep was the most commonly used self-management strategy (81%) by headache sufferers and also rated as the most effective strategy (5.5 out of 7.0). These findings suggest that a bidirectional relationship between sleep disturbance and headache is present in this young-adult sample. Furthermore, the frequent use of sleep as a self-management strategy for pain is consistent with the hypothesis that sleep-seeking behavior might be a mediating factor in the development of insomnia among people with tension-type headache. This hypothesis fits within the most widely accepted conceptual model of chronic insomnia and should be further investigated in individuals with both tension-type headache and insomnia.

Building Bridges: Strengthening the Principal Induction Process through Intentional Mentoring

DURING the 12th and 13th centuries, various associations began to form with the express purpose of building bridges. Similar to guilds, these Bridge-Building Brotherhoods were composed of master artisans who piously labored to aid pilgrims as they traveled. As master artisans, well respected for the quality of their work, they had advanced through the stages of unpaid apprentice and paid journeyman before earning master status. Throughout history, this system has been used with great frequency and reliability in many professions and trades. Craftsmen train and learn under the watchful tutelage of a master until they meet the standards of high-quality work. In the field of education, the concept of apprenticeship and working under a master craftsman is not foreign. Nearly every employed teacher worked through a university-sanctioned, unpaid student-teaching experience in the home classroom of a master teacher. The continuation of this learning process as the teacher then ventures into school administration, however, has been erratic and inconsistent. Now, in the 21st century, in the midst of the Era of Accountability, the need to develop principals as master artisans is as dire as it is immediate. Unfortunately, we have often asked aspiring and new principals to go it alone. Most administrative certification programs include an internship, which may or may not be beneficial to the candidate, depending on how much actual handson experience is gained. Classes in research, theory, and discussion can prepare a candidate only so much. But a viable solution has taken root in the administrative realm. Recent research indicates a rise in the frequency and depth of mentoring programs for school administrators, in particular building principals. Many school districts provide mentors for new principals to learn the ropes when entering the job. Unfortunately, says research analyst Robert Malone, these mentorships are often hoc relationships, lacking any type of systematic implementation. (1) In 2002, realizing the need for high-quality administrators, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) identified six key standards for what principals should know and be able to do. (2) The following year NAESP introduced the Principals Advisory Leadership Services (PALS) Corps, designed to meet the needs of aspiring, new, and experienced school principals. One component of this innovative framework is the National Principals Mentoring Certification Program, a yearlong professional development initiative that trains current principals to be master artisans who will guide, nurture, and support their proteges in a quasi-apprenticeship experience. The program includes a three-day institute and a nine-month mentoring internship that features in-depth mentoring practice, monthly chats, frequent professional reading, and continuous self-reflection projects. WHY FORMAL MENTORING? What the PALS initiative has going for it is the element of formality. Rather than relying on ad hoc relationships or, worse still, abandoning new principals to the fate of swimming without a lifejacket, in the words of the Education Alliance at Brown University, (3) this National Principals Mentoring Certification Program provides definitions of effective mentoring performance and the training, practice, and skill development to achieve it. Following a formal scope and sequence, mentor participants exit with a true understanding of the process, learning goals, and relationship responsibilities of an effective mentorship. They become, in effect, master mentors. Several other effective mentorship models have cropped up over the past decade. The Southern Regional Education Board developed a systemwide process of mentoring, the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association created the First-Time Campus Administrators Academy, and the California School Leadership Academy operates a dozen school leadership centers statewide that provide structured support and mentoring for novice building principals. …

Factors Influencing Intent to Stay in Academia for Nursing Faculty in the Southern United States of America

The current nursing faculty shortage makes understanding intent to stay in academia a step toward slowing the exodus of faculty. The purpose of this study was to discover a parsimonious set of predictor variables from the variables of job satisfaction, mentoring, organizational commitment, and leadership behaviors for intent to stay in nursing education. A random cluster sample consisted of 39 schools of nursing in states within the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). There were 316 responses from 782 potential participants for a response rate of 40.4%. Stepwise multiple regression results indicated that organizational commitment explained 19.7% of the variance in intent to stay one year and 21.2% of the variance in intent to stay five years. Further, mentored faculty scored significantly higher on organizational commitment. Intent to stay three years was not significantly correlated to any predictor variables suggesting it is a time to intervene to influence decisions to stay.

Academic Leadership in America's Public Schools

Academic leadership directly helps faculty members, administrative leaders, and professional support persons improve the quantity and quality of student learning. Those who regularly lead decision-making and action-taking processes in curriculum, instruction, and assessment of student learning can be called academic leaders. This article focuses on the need for improved academic leadership and examines models suggested by the Curriculum Leadership Institute, Southern Regional Education Board, and the Boston School Leadership Institute.

The summer research conferences and the SRCOS: a historical perspective

In this paper, a brief account of the origin and evolution of the Southern Regional Council on Statistics/American Statistical Association (SRCOS/ASA) Summer Research Conference (SRC) is outlined. The 40th SRC was held in Blacksburg, Virginia, on 6–9 June 2004. The conference was originally the brainchild of the Southern Regional Education Board's Committee on Statistics (SREB-COS), created to fulfill a unique need for a small gathering of statisticians and other scientists in the Southern region of the United States, at which research topics in statistics and statistical training could be addressed in a relaxed and unhurried way amid pleasant surroundings. Young statisticians were included along with well-known senior researchers to be able to interact, get to know each other, and enhance their research and training efforts. A brief history of the SREB-COS and its successor, the SRCOS, is also presented to convey its role in the development of the discipline in the region.

Heightened Parasympathetic Activity to Stressors in African American Male Juveniles before the Onset of Clinical Hypertension

Factors, such as race, family history, and stress, may produce cardiovascular and autonomic differences responsible for the prevalence of hypertension in African Americans. We used non-invasive measurements of cardiovascular and autonomic activity in black and white normotensive male juveniles with (+FH) and without (−FH) a family history of hypertension in response to stress, with the goal of identifying markers for development of adult hypertension. (+FH) required one hypertensive parent. Forty juveniles (12–19 years) divided into 4 equal groups, (+FH) and (−FH) black and white subjects, underwent three stress tests: orthostatic stress (70° head-up-tilt), mental stress (Stroop color word, CWT) and physical stress (cold pressor). Repeated ANOVA was used to determine significant (P<0.05) differences. Blood pressure (BP) analyses revealed lower mean arterial pressure, diastolic pressure and peripheral vascular resistance in (+FH) subjects compared with (−FH) subjects during the CWT, independent of race. During tilt, racial differences were found in heart rate (HR) with black males having lower values, independent of family history. Frequency analyses of HR and BP variability showed that black malesproduced lower sympathetic activity during control CWT, independent of family history. During tilt, sympathetic modulation was lower and parasympathetic modulation was greater in (+FH) subjects, independent of race. Augmentation of parasympathetic modulation and loss of sympathetic modulation were opposite to the behavior often observed in adult hypertensive subjects. Supported by a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) fellowship.

Proposed nurse educator competencies: Development and validation of a model

As the concern for adequate numbers of well-prepared nurse educators grows, the Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing, an affiliate of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), has developed and validated competencies to guide the preparation of nurse educators. The 37 competency statements reflect the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities that all nurse educators must demonstrate within the roles of teacher, scholar, and collaborator. The competencies, together with the ideologies, values, and essential core knowledge from which the competencies were derived, are vital to guide educational programs preparing nurse educators and for structuring recognition and evaluation processes for certifying, credentialing, and accrediting bodies.