About PCEL

Mission/Vision | About PCEL | Who We Are | Related Links & Partners

Mission

Penn Center for Educational Leadership is
“Committed to Building Leadership Capacity to Support Student/Educational Learning and Development."

To impact high achievement for all students, we provide educational leaders (administrators, teachers, students and the community) with quality evidence-based instructional strategies, and effective leadership and management practices. We engage the community and the public in education through public deliberation and community outreach.

Vision

The Penn Center for Educational Leadership (PCEL) advances leadership principles, practices and knowledge so that educators develop their capacity to reflect on practice, guide effective change, and lead programmatic excellence. We apply the resources of Penn/GSE to collaborate with school districts, schools, and other organizations to enhance their leadership capacity.

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The Penn Center for Educational Leadership (PCEL) delivers a coordinated and customized set of leadership and instructional development programs, services and activities. We facilitate collaborative administrator and district team learning experiences at Penn and throughout the region that are grounded in emerging research in effective educational leadership, teaching and student learning, and organizational change. In addition to the “core services” of the PCEL programs, the center strives to respond to the individual needs of districts for various types of training and technical assistance.

The Penn Center for Educational Leadership’s activities focus on five major projects and programs of leadership and development:

Annenberg Project – Develop teacher leaders to function in school leadership teams which focus on improving instruction
Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium (DVMSAC) – Equity leadership
Center for School Study Councils (CSSC) – Serve as a catalyst for superintendents to take a pro-active leadership role and facilitate their own professional development
Penn Literacy Network (PLN) – Provide research- based, comprehensive professional development/curricular enhancement programs in reading/writing/talking/listening across the curriculum for teachers, instructional coaches and educational leaders in grades pre K – 12.
Penn Project for Civic Engagement (PPCE) - Brings citizens together to identify and do something about problems in their community. We do this by planning and conducting civic dialogues where community members are guided through a process of deliberation to identify problems in their community and do something about them. The work people accomplish through this process creates insight, solutions, and momentum toward action.

In addition to these five major projects and program areas we provide services such as:

Penn Search
Program Evaluations
Community Outreach

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Who We Are

John A. DeFlaminis
Executive Director (Distributed Leadership Initiatives; PennSearch)
Prior to joining Penn’s Graduate School of Education, Dr. DeFlaminis was superintendent of the Radnor TownshipSchool district for 17 years. Through those years, he provided leadershipin the direction and development of extensive planning processes in the district, including strategic plans, capital improvement plans, comprehensive staff development plans, curriculum development plans, and district-wide technology plans. Dr. DeFlaminis has consulted with the U.S. Department of Education, several state departments of education, rural and urban school districts, administrative organizations, private business organizations, and the Kettering Foundation.

Dr. DeFlaminis’s primary interests and projects include providing leadershipfor the Penn Center for Educational Leadership; conducting training in organizational process areas, especially motivation and leadership; advising students on dissertations; coaching new administrators; and working with GSE faculty and programs to bring their work to the field. With funding from the Annenberg Foundation, he developed a $5 million project on distributed leadershipwith the School District of Philadelphia and 16 schools, and is currently working on a $3.4 million project with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Ph.D. (Educational Administration) University of Oregon
M.Ed. (Educational Administration) State College at Bridgewater,MA
A.B. (Pre-Med) College of The Holy Cross

Bonnie Botel-Sheppard
Executive Director (Penn Literacy Network)
Dr. Botel-Sheppard has directed The Penn Literacy Network since 1990 and has facilitated PLN courses since 1981. Her work for PLN includes the development and support of PreK-12 seminars and mentoring programs based on outstanding teaching practices that reflect the work of Dr. Morton Botel, Emeritus Professor of the Graduate School of Education at Penn, former president of the International Reading Association (IRA) and a member of IRA’s Reading Hall of Fame.

She is also involved in the recruitment and fund raising for long term programs that support teachers, school leaders and parents in reading/writing/talking across the curriculum, the development of new courses and programs, and the enhancement of current programs. She is responsible for the hiring and support of PLN’s exceptional part-time instructors including PreK-12 teachers, school leaders and retired educators. Dr. Botel-Sheppard works with PLN to developand implement programs, and supports and oversees the activities of PLN staff as they administer and programmatically support the day to day administration and material development of PLN.

Harris Sokoloff
Executive Director (Center for School Study Councils, Penn Project for Civic Engagement, PennSearch)
Harris Sokoloff has been Executive Director of the Center for School Study Councils (CSSC) at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education since 1981. The Center, which is currently comprised of more than 90 affiliated school districts, works with superintendents to help them keeppace with state-of-the art educational and management theory, research and practice. He has also worked with more than 70 educational organizations across the country on a range of organizational development and improvement projects. In 2006 Dr. Sokoloff cofounded the Penn Project for Civic Engagement, which works with communities and organizations to identify and do something about problems in their community or organization. PPCE is a cross-university collaboration working with community organizations, government agencies and businesses to plan, conduct, and report deliberative dialogues about important issues. PPCE has a close partnershipwith WHYY radio and television which enables the Project to work with news media to amplify the citizens’ voices.

Ph.D. (Foundations of Education) Syracuse University
M.Ed. (Philosophy of Education) Temple University
B.A. (Philosophy (Sociology & Psychology minors)) Temple University

Joseph Ginotti
Director (Penn Literacy Network)
Mr. Ginotti is the Director of the Penn Literacy Network and was previously the Associate Director since 2001. He has been instrumental in developing PLN’s secondary program. Mr. Ginotti has over thirty years of experience in public education as a secondary English teacher, English Chairperson, and District Curriculum Coordinator. He has been the lead instructor for PLN’s work with the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative and the Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching programs.

Robert L. Jarvis
Director (Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium); Co-Director (New Jersey Network to Close the Achievement Gaps)
Dr. Jarvis brings to his work at PCEL many years of experience in educational leadershipand professional development and consultation in K-12 and Higher Education, as well as Business and Industry. His current professional interests involve working with regional and national district/school administrators and teachers in better attending to the developmental and learning needs of diverse students through district-wide leadershipdevelopment and policy and district/school organizational change initiatives.

Dr. Jarvis developed and currently directs the Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium, a collaborative inquiry and professional development based organization, that in its 7th year, is dedicated to supporting 30 school districts, county intermediate units and a state teachers’ association in effectively increasing the number of students of color among the “most successful,” and actively reducing the gaps in achievement and school engagement defined by race/ethnicity and economics. He has further worked to developother regional school district collaboratives dedicated to enhancing minority student achievement in Michigan and New Jersey (The New Jersey Network to Close the Achievement Gaps- currently 16 districts in southern NJ).

In prior professional experiences, Dr. Jarvis has directed and administered multiple school improvement initiatives, and taught for Syracuse University, Remington College (LA), University of Portland (OR), and the Portland (OR) Public Schools. At the University of Portland, he developed the University’s first student learning support program and administered successful graduate degree programs in educational leadershipand instructional development for K-12 teachers and administrators that were offered throughout Oregon, Washington, Canada, Hawaii and Guam.

Ph.D. (Educational Psychology) Michigan State University
M.A.(Educational Psychology) Michigan State University
B.S. (Psychology and Criminology/Corrections) Western Oregon State University

Gina L. Calzaferri
Associate Director (Penn Literacy Network)
Ms. Calzaferri is the Associate Director of the Penn Literacy Network and was previously the Project Manager since 2005. She helped coordinate PLN’s participation in The Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI) and currently helps oversee involvement in the Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching (PIIC). Ms. Calzaferri assists in the conceptualization, development and implementation of PLN’s large scale programming.

Ed.D. candidate (Higher Education) University of Pennsylvania
M.S.Ed. (Psychological Services) University of Pennsylvania
B.A. (Psychology) Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

Jim O’Toole
Director (Distributed Leadership Initiatives, Penn Search, Val-Ed, Mathematica Policy Inc., Curriculum Evaluation Team, International Programs)
Dr. O’Toole serves as Assistant Project Director for the Distributed LeadershipInitiative which was/is in the Philadelphia School District and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He has participated as a school district recruiter for Val-Ed and Mathematica Policy Inc., Penn Search team member who assists Boards of Education employing a chief school officer, PCEL administrator with budget oversight, member of Penn district curriculum evaluation team, International exchange educator who hosted and taught Chinese educators.

Ed.D (Educational Leadership) University of Delaware
P.D. (Supervision and Administration)St John’s University
M.S. Adelphi University
M.A. (Teaching) Duke University
B.S. Iona College

Morton Botel
Senior Advisor (Penn Literacy Network)
Dr. Morton Botel, Emeritus Professor of Education and Child Development at the University of Pennsylvania, founded the Penn Literacy Network in 1981. Earlier, in 1975 the Pennsylvania State Department of Education selected him to write and implement the Pennsylvania Comprehensive Reading/Communication Arts Plan to meet the US Office of Education’s Right to Read mandate. This framework and its revisions have guided educators in Pennsylvania to this very day. For five years, following its publication, Dr. Botel worked throughout the Commonwealth to further professional development to support the plan. When federal funds dried up, he decided to continue and expand professional development opportunities for educators throughout the country through a continuing education program at the Graduate School of Education, which he called Penn Literacy Network. By 2005, over 25,000 educators have been enrolled in one or more of its 10+ long-term seminars.
Dr. Botel is now serving as PLN’s Senior Advisor.

Linda Breitstein
Project Manager (Penn Project for Civic Engagement)
Linda Breitstein has been the Project Manager for the Penn Project for Civic Engagement (PPCE) for the past four years. During that time she has developed an outreach database and process, including personal contacts, which have enabled her to bring the desired participants to PPCE’s civic engagement work. Prior to coming to Penn, Linda worked as public relations director for WSBK-TV in Boston and media consultant to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She also has worked as editorial assistant for CBS’s “60 Minutes” in Paris and as a special education teacher in Israel.

B.S. (Public Health, Community Health Education) University of Mass.

Kate Byerley
Administrative Coordinator (Penn Center for Educational Leadership; Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium)
Kate provides administrative support to PCEL in addition to assisting with the DVMSAC.

Lindsay Shafer
Administrative Coordinator (Penn Center for Educational Leadership; Distributed Leadership Initiatives)
Lindsay supports the Distributed LeadershipInitiatives and other PCEL programs and services, serving as a liaison for faculty, staff, school district administrators and the like.

Iris Sanchez
Administrative Coordinator (Penn Literacy Network)
Iris supports the PLN by providing day to day management for the program. She is actively involved with the registration process, develops special projects for PLN and organizes monthly events. Iris also works closely with the PLN directors in communicating with district administrators and off-site staff.

B.A. (Criminal Justice) Temple University

Marlene W. Ryder
Office Assistant (Penn Literacy Network)
Marlene provides clerical and administrative support for the daily operations of the Penn Literacy Network (PLN). She interacts with faculty, students, vendors, alumni, school district administrators, and other visitors. Marlene also assists with the PLN Summer LeadershipWorkshopWeek, Winter Symposium Workshopand PLN Dinner.

B.A. (Organizational Management) Eastern University, PA

Erika Dawson
Administrative Coordinator (Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium)
Erika provides clerical and administrative support to the DVMSAC and PCEL. She has a strong interest in work focused on the achievement gapand in efforts to encourage underrepresented students to attend and graduate from college.

M.S.Ed. (Intercultural Communication) University of Pennsylvania
B.A. (Communication Studies) West Chester University (PA)

Mary DiSangro
Administrative Coordinator (Center for School Study Councils)
Mary is the Administrative Coordinator to Harris Sokoloff and the Center for School Study Councils.

Terence Newby
Building Administrator (Graduate School of Education)
As building administrator, Terence supervises, coordinates and administers maintenance, repair, renovation, housekeeping, safety, and security for the Penn Center for Educational Leadershipand for the Graduate School of Education. He is essential to the planning and scheduling of classroom events in GSE space and the backbone of planning for many of PCEL’s events.

Associate’s (Computer Applications and Network Administration)

Eric Yoak
Research Assistant (Distributed Leadership Initiatives)
With his background as teacher and school administrator, Eric is happy to join the team at PCEL in his new role as a doctoral student in Educational Leadershipat the Graduate School of Education. Eric looks forward to working with the center staff, partners, clients and member schools and school districts, learning from their collective experiences and continually working to integrate new theories and researched-based ideas with the practices of educational communities. He will be serving the center by providing technical assistance and expertise, designing and/or conducting research and evaluations, and collaborating on program implementations.

Ed.D. (Educational Leadership) University of Pennsylvania, in progress
M.S.Ed. (Classroom Teaching) Missouri Baptist University, 2006
B.A. (Urban Studies) Brown University, 2003

Kristin M. Larsen
Research Assistant (Penn Literacy Network)
Kristin Larsen is an Ed.D. student in Reading/Writing/Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Penn, Kristin served as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher and department chair at the elementary, middle school, and adult/family education levels in Northern Virginia, as well as an English Language Teaching Assistant for the Austrian-American Educational Commission/Fulbright Commission in Salzburg, Austria. Kristin is also a Teacher Consultant for the Northern Virginia Writing Project. Her diverse research interests include the ways in which education law and policy impact underserved student populations, as well as how multimodal literacies can expand traditional notions of academic reading and writing.

Ed.D. (Reading/Writing/Literacy) University of Pennsylvania, in progress
M.Ed. (Curriculum and Instruction: Multilingual/Multicultural Education) George Mason University
B.A. (German Studies and International Letters and Visual Studies) Tufts University

Sara Tilles
Graduate Assistant (PennLiteracy Network)
Sara primarily assists Dr. Bonnie Botel-Sheppard, director of the Penn Literacy Network, in recruitment. She coordinates calls with district liaisons and facilitators for planning purposes and does research on districts for future possible partnerships.
Professionaly, Sara is interested in literacy in the primary grades, especially in using reading and writing to work towards identity formation and social justice.

Becca Buurma
Graduate Assistant (Penn Literacy Network)

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Penn Partners

Center for School Study Councils
Penn Literacy Network
Center for Continuing Education in Psychological and Community Services
Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium
Annenberg Distributed Leadership Initiative
Consortium for Policy Research in Education
Philadelphia Writing Project
Penn Merck Collaborative for Science Education