Ed Leadership, Technology on the Agenda in Nicaragua

February 16, 2011 - In 2010, Mike Johanek, director of Penn GSE's Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, and Sharon Ravitch, a Penn GSE faculty member, joined with colleagues across the region to launch the Americas Educational Leadership Network (AELN).

The aim, says Johanek, is “to further expand Penn GSE’s scope beyond US borders and to learn and share with professional colleagues around the world.” 

Among its inaugural programs is a series of Regional Consultancy Meetings, with AELN members conducting on-site consultations. In March, the Network will undertake its first regional consultancy, to be held in Nicaragua. Among those participating are a number of current and former students in Penn GSE's Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership: Ara Brown, Jesse Dougherty, Reginald Davenport, Jeffrey Fecher, Yvonne McCarthy, Jennifer Meller, Sherrell Mickens, Jim Melchor, Jennifer Riccards, and Martha Richmond, and Yvonne McCarthy.

The agenda will focus on school innovation with technology and multi-tier leadership development. AELN members will visit Nicaraguan schools and work to address issues identified by the local stakeholders.

During the day-long conference that will kick off the visit, Ravitch will present on her partnership with the Nicaragua-based coffee exporter CISA to introduce a technology-based curriculum to students and teachers in a rural community school.

Also presenting will be Jeffrey M. Puryear, vice president at the Inter-American Dialogue, where he directs the Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PREAL).

Media contact: Jill DiSanto-Haines / jdisanto@upenn.edu / 215-898-4820