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Note: As a model, this description should not be viewed as prescriptive, but as a projection of the desired state. The realities of current funding, availability of personnel, anomalies of site culture and geography, and actual participant base will likely mean that reality and model are not synchronous. TCAP honors the resources, integrity, professionalism, and creativity of the leadership conducting these events. Experience has shown that the purpose and principles of these events have been affirmed despite expected and reasonable divergence from details.

6/6/97

Purposes: Held in alternating years with the Leadership Academy, Leadership Events serve to provide Site Directors, Satellite Coordinators, Statewide Office staff, and other TCAP Teacher Leaders with appropriate preparation to assist them in fulfilling their existing and emerging roles. The combination of all Leadership Events held in one year will offer participating educators these opportunities:

1. to become informed regarding and to stay abreast of current research and to develop or continue interest in and familiarity with specific current issues related to arts education (e.g., diversity, assessment, literacy, technology) and to serve as a resource person for TCAP sites and their own schools and districts regarding such topics and issues; (Leadership and TCAP Strands)
   
   
2. to continue to broaden and deepen subject matter knowledge and experience in the arts by being directly engaged in experiences in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts; (Artistic Processes Strand)
   
   
3. to continue to cultivate the habit of personal and professional reflection both individually and in groups; (Reflection Strand)
   
   
4. to develop the expertise necessary to take specific leadership roles in TCAP, such as PDPS Coordinator or TCAP Site Webmaster, or enhance skills necessary to expand current leadership roles within TCAP, within their own schools and districts, and within the reform context of arts education; (TCAP and Leadership Strands)
   
   
5. to explore future needs of TCAP and to develop capacity to contribute to the leadership role of TCAP within the CSMP network; (TCAP and Leadership Strands)
   

The Events rest on the following:

1. Each Event draws upon successful past TCAP practices.
   
   
2. The combination of Leadership Events is designed to provide choice for Teacher Leaders with interests in specific topics or issues related to arts education.
   
   
3. Every site is to have participant representation at every Event to help ensure continued coherence, continuity, and access to information among all sites and to assist in the development of a statewide TCAP community.
   
   
4. Events are conducted by the Statewide Office or contracted out to particular sites that have engaged in significant work and/or demonstrated leadership regarding a particular topic, issue, or inquiry in the expectation that expertise will be shared among all sites.
   

Eligibility: TCAP Members, pre-kindergarten through postsecondary, are eligible to apply. In order to ensure equal access to all areas of the state, equal numbers of participants from each regional site are included. Site Directors and Satellite Coordinators are expected to attend at least one Leadership Event and are counted among their regional site's representatives. Statewide Office program staff are also expected to attend one or more Leadership Events and are counted separately from regional site representatives.

Participants: Leadership Events may vary in size and can be structured to accommodate from eleven to forty participants each. The total number of participants attending all Leadership Events in a given year should equal or exceed the number that would be attending a single Leadership Academy (60-80 participants). In addition to equal representation from all TCAP sites, as with the other TCAP institutes, TCAP's intent is to achieve balance in various features: arts disciplines, demographic, ethnic, gender, teaching levels, special populations.

Selection: Preliminary screening of applicants to meet the guidelines described above as well as event-specific criteria will be handled at the site level. Final selection and invitations will come from the Statewide Office, after a screening process involving the Executive Director, the Event Director(s), the Site Directors, and the Satellite Coordinators.

Length: TCAP's residential Leadership Events are designed to be five days long, plus follow-up sessions. Cohesion and collegiality have characterized the Project in the past; a residential Institute is considered important to continuing to forge solid collegial bonds among participant educators, pre-K through postsecondary. TCAP members report consistently that having meals and spending unscheduled time together promote connections among participants which profoundly affect the learning which takes place.

Expectations: Participants, including staff, are expected to participate fully in all aspects of the Leadership Event and follow-up activities. Participants at a Leadership Event serve as representatives for their sites and are expected to serve as resource people to the site in regard to the central topic or issue of the Event, possibly becoming members of site Institute, Professional Development Program Series, or other site event staff. It is also assumed that participants in Leadership Events may continue or begin to assume leadership roles in their schools, districts, and in the larger education and arts education community.

Participants in some Leadership Events might be expected to continue work or research begun at the Event or to complete a specific related assignment or project, and to share progress or the completed work at a follow-up session. In 1996, participants at different Leadership Events designed web pages, completed professional portfolios, developed and taught joint lessons, and enriched existing lessons. Expectations are described as fully as possible in pre-Event publicity.

Program Structure: The combination of all Leadership Events includes all of the Major Program Strands, though each Event on its own need not place the same emphasis on each strand. Each Event is centered on a particular topic, issue, or inquiry, which dictates the proportion of time spent on each strand.

Leadership Strand: As participants in a Leadership Event are expected to become resources for their sites, they are involved in experiences allowing them to explore and become familiar with the topic or issue around which the Event is centered. Participants may also be involved in activities designed to enhance their abilities to build community, to provide leadership, to improve communication, to work effectively in teams, and to improve organizational effectiveness. Approximately fifty percent of the combined schedules of all Leadership Events in a given year is devoted to the Leadership Strand. Each Leadership Event in a given year is expected to devote time to this strand.

TCAP Strand: A key aspect of the Leadership Events is the sharing of expertise among sites and the Statewide Office in order to move TCAP forward in a coherent manner. Participants should be involved in activities and informational sessions to help them become aware of the statewide support network to which they belong. Sessions should also include updates on state developments affecting TCAP and the California Subject Matter Projects, site and regional planning, long-range planning for TCAP, process observation to inform future planning, and documentation. Approximately fifteen to twenty-five percent of the combined schedules of all Leadership Events in a given year is devoted to the TCAP Strand. Each Leadership Event in a given year is expected to devote time to this strand.

Artistic Processes Strand: Leadership Event participants are given the opportunity to deepen their own knowledge and experience of the arts disciplines as they relate to the particular topics, issues, or inquiries upon which the Events center. Approximately twenty to twenty-five percent of the combined schedules of all Leadership Events in a given year is devoted to the Artistic Processes Strand.

 

Classroom Applications Strand: Events will vary in the amount of direct applicability to classroom situations. Some might deal exclusively with leadership skills applicable more on a schoolwide, districtwide, or statewide level. Others might be applicable only in TCAP contexts. Still others might deal primarily with content or processes that are purposely and directly applicable to the participants' classrooms. As these events are targeted at the "leadership level" and as they will vary in focus depending on leadership needs in any given year, there is no required percentage of scheduled time devoted to this strand.

 

Reflection Strand: Participants are expected to continue reflective practices started at institutes as well as to experiment with new reflective practices regarding their growth as arts educators and leaders. This strand is woven throughout each Leadership Event and is integrated with activities in the other strands. It might also be the central focus of a particular Leadership Event. Often counted within other strands, reflective activities will include the equivalent of some ten to twenty percent of the combined schedules of all Leadership Events in a given year. Each Leadership Event in a given year is expected to devote time to this strand.

Event Follow-up: The Statewide Office or sponsoring regional site organizes follow-up activities or sessions which extend and expand upon the Program Strands of the Leadership Events themselves. These activities are designed to continue exploration of Event topics, issues, or inquiries, to permit sharing and feedback regarding related participant assignments, projects, or experiences, and to assist participants in practicing the leadership, team-building, communication, planning, organizational, and networking skills introduced during the Events. Individual sites also hold meetings that bring together their own representatives from each of the Leadership Events in order to share content from the Events with other site leaders and to begin discussing site applications of the work at the Events. Participants are expected to attend follow-up sessions as part of their original commitment to the Event.

Credit: Participants may be able to enroll for undergraduate, graduate, or continuing education credit. Additional work is required of participants in order to earn this credit. Sites may offer credit from their host or other institutions.

Staffing: Leadership Event staff is invited from among TCAP Teacher Leaders who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in the specific Event topic. Staff recommendations are solicited from Statewide Office staff, Site Directors, and Satellite Coordinators. Staff for Events held by the Statewide Office are subject to availability from regional site commitments. Opportunities to serve on a site-conducted Leadership Event staff are offered first to appropriate Members within the region served by the site and next to appropriate Members from other regions. Outside presenters with particular expertise are specially invited for particular sessions and presentations.

Fee Structure: Fees and committed release time from participants' sponsoring institutions to cover registration, institute participation, and follow-up activities are generally uniform among Leadership Events in a given year. The fee is usually half that of a ten-day Leadership Academy. In 1996 the Leadership Event fee was $250 and two release days during the subsequent academic year (except for the PDPS Workshop, which was invitational and specifically served TCAP purposes with no direct application to school or district needs; there was no fee for this Event).

Honoraria: Participants who attend the entire Leadership Event and its follow-up activities are given an honorarium. The amount of this honorarium is consistent in any given year, but may vary from year to year. It is lower than the amount given for a full, two-week Leadership Academy. In 1996, Leadership Event participants each received an honorarium of $200.

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