Matching Mentors and Students Helps Achieve Success in Leadership

December 14, 2004

ARKADELPHIA - Arkansas public school superintendents and higher education administrators are serving as mentors to help ensure the success of candidates pursuing the educational specialist degree at Henderson State University.

The Henderson Educational Leadership Program recently hosted a training session for mentors and advisors and discussed the program, standards and role and responsibilities of mentors.  Drs. Johnnie Roebuck, Penny Ferguson and Pat Weaver, professors and candidate advisors, led the session.

Since 1978, Henderson State University has provided exceptional educational programming for school administrators at the master-degree level, as well as for candidates seeking a program of study for principal licensure. Henderson's school leadership program is recognized throughout Arkansas educational circles and Henderson graduates are highly recruited as educational leaders. 

Henderson is committed to the development and delivery of an exemplary post-master's degree programs in educational leadership.  To ensure that graduate students preparing for the role of senior level educational administration or superintendent positions have the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills necessary to be productive and successful school leaders, Henderson developed the educational specialist (Ed.S.) program in educational leadership as an innovative response to an increased demand for prepared school leaders for the 21st century. Careful planning for this degree program included involvement with Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE), other Arkansas four-year institutions offering the Ed.S. degree, and a diverse group of in-state stakeholders, including the Arkansas Leadership Academy and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA). The Henderson program incorporates the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC), the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC), the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) standards for school leaders.  Henderson admitted the first cohort in August 2003.

Candidates and their mentors include:

-- Jerri Courville of Camden, principal of Harmony Grove Elementary School, with Dr. Winston Simpson, superintendent of the Lafayette County School District, serving as mentor;
-- Pat Donlow of Arkadelphia, 21st Century director for the Arkadelphia School District, with Dr. Loretta McGregor, associate professor of psychology at Ouachita Baptist University, serving as mentor;
-- Paul Griep of Nashville, assistant principal of Nashville High School, with Dr. Suzanne Mitchell, director of the Teacher Quality Enhancement Project with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, serving as mentor;
-- Becky Ives of Camden, principal of Chidester Elementary School, with Dr. Jerry Guess, superintendent of Camden-Fairview School District, serving as mentor; 
-- Lynda Samons of El Dorado, who works in the office of the Dean of Teachers College, Henderson, with Dr. John Measel, director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and Arts, serving as mentor;
-- Brad Sullivan of Cabot, director of Cabot School District Small Learning Communities, with Dr. Frank Holman, superintendent of the Cabot School District, serving as mentor;
-- Donnie Whitten of Arkadelphia, principal of Peake Elementary School, with Dr. Frank Holman, superintendent of the Cabot School District, serving as mentor;
-- Tiffany Beasley of Hope, assistant principal of Nevada Elementary/Junior High School, with Dr. Arthur Tucker, assistant superintendent for learning services with the Texarkana School District, serving as mentor;
-- Joe Ann Harris of Mineral Springs, literacy coach for Mineral Springs Elementary School, with Kenneth Muldrew, superintendent of the Hope School District, serving as mentor;
-- Dan Henderson of Smackover, principal of Smackover Elementary School, with Bob Watson, superintendent of the El Dorado School District, serving as mentor;
-- Jan Henderson of Smackover, principal of Mt. Holly School, with Dr. Barbara Wood, superintendent of Lake Hamilton School District, serving as mentor;
-- Patsy Hughey of Waldo, assistant principal of Camden-Fairview Middle School, with Bob Watson, superintendent of the El Dorado School District, serving as mentor;
-- John Miller of Arkadelphia, director of athletic training education at Henderson, with Dr. Kenneth Moore, dean of Teachers College, Henderson, serving as mentor;
-- Karla Neathery of Benton, director of curriculum and instruction with the Benton School District, with Dr. Diana Julian, superintendent of the Benton School District, serving as mentor;
-- Lisa Oden of Camden, teacher education coordinator with Southern Arkansas University Tech, with Dr. Reginald Cooper, vice chancellor of student services at Southern Arkansas Tech, serving as mentor;
-- Sharon Scott of Thornton, composition and speech instructor at SAU Tech, with Dr. Reginald Cooper, vice chancellor of student services at Southern Arkansas Tech, serving as mentor;
-- Scott Spainhour of Malvern, superintendent of Magnet Cove School District, with Dr. Tony Protho, superintendent of the Arkadelphia School District, serving as mentor; and
-- Jeanette Turner of Arkadelphia, Title I facilitator with Peake Elementary School, with Dr. Virginia Anderson, coordinator of Title I/Workforce Education with the Arkadelphia School District, serving as mentor.

During the training session, Roebuck, coordinator of Henderson's Programs for Educational Leadership, praised the leaders. "The quality of our program's instruction is dependent on the expertise of these outstanding school leaders and their willingness to mentor our Ed.S. candidates," she said.