| Oakland University's School of Education and Human Services recently caught up with one of our alumnae who is working to make schools better across the state of Michigan as she serves on the Governor's Council on Teacher Effectiveness. What is the Governor’s Council on Teacher Effectiveness? What are the council’s goals? The Council is a five member group of educators, three were appointed by the Governor and two were appointed by leaders in the House and Senate. The Council is charged with recommending five items to the legislature: a student growth model, a teacher evaluation tool, an administrator evaluation tool, a review of teacher certification protocol and a method for evaluating and approving local district evaluation documents. How will you be involved? I am one of the voting members on the Council. I was appointed by the Speaker of the House, Jase Bolger. How did your appointment come about? My appointment came about as a result of my professional relationship with my local House Representative, Paul Scott. He was instrumental in developing and passing the new teacher tenure and evaluation legislation. Additionally, I am serving as the President of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals this year. Due to my role as President, I am close to the political landscape in Lansing and have been provided opportunities to share my opinions about the current state of education in Michigan. How are you applying what you learned at OU in your role as principal and on this council? My experiences at OU go far beyond the material I learned in class. It is through the relationships I have formed with colleagues, the work ethic I established through the doctoral program and the ability to collect and understand data that have allowed me the opportunity to be a principal in an exemplary school in an outstanding school district which will then allow me to share my practical experiences on the Governor's Council. What was the most special or most important part of your OU experience? While there were many different experiences that I found valuable, it is my continued involvement with the administrator mentoring program that I find most valuable. I have mentored three Oakland University students who aspire to be building level assistant principals or principals. In my conversations with these OU students, not only am I able to build my own capacity but I am also able to share my experiences with them and I absolutely love sharing in the growth and development of new school leaders. |
Jennifer Hammond
Principal, Grand Blanc High School
Education Specialist in Administration, 2006
Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Leadership, 2006 |