The volume is divided into an introduction, Part II, which explores important concepts and ideas in regards to mentoring and then Part III which are essays from individuals whom Fran Kochan mentored throughout her life. In closing, Fran Kochan lives and breathes her words. Even today, she continues to work with scholars, practitioners and others she meets. She offers a guiding hand, she uplifts and she supports all that she meets. Please enjoy this volume of highlights of research from top mentoring experts who are peers of Dr. Kochan, as well as the tributes from a sampling of individuals she has mentored to successful careers. You will be inspired to learn how Dr. Fran Kochan masters both the art and science of mentoring. We honor her in this book as scholar, mentor, and friend.

There is a large body of research that supports the reality that school leaders make a significant contribution to the success of schools and the students in them. Additionally, there is strong agreement among and between researchers and state and national educational leadership associations that educational leadership preparation and development should be created and implemented within university/ school partnerships. Although institutions engage in forming university/school partnerships for varied reasons, research on the extent to which these partnerships exist; their organizational structures and processes;their implementation and effectiveness; and elements that foster and hinder their success is limited. Perhaps more importantly, there is not a widely accepted, research-based model of such partnerships that practitioners and researchers can use to guide the development and assessment of these partnership endeavors and upon which they can conduct effective research. This book seeks to fill these gaps. It presents the purposes, processes, practices and outcomes of eleven university/school partnerships focused on school leadership preparation and/or development. Each chapter presents an overview of the partnership, elements that fostered and hindered partnership success, and lessons learned. The book concludes with a chapter that summarizes findings across all chapters and presents a school/university partnership model that can be used by those interested in forming, improving or researching similar partnership endeavors. There are no similar resources available in the field. Thus, this book makes an important contribution to the literature and to the world of practice and research.

Rural Turnaround Leadership Development: The Power of Partnerships focuses on a three- year rural turnaround leadership project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was designed to foster the development of a cohort of aspiring school leaders in rural high poverty/low performing K-12 school districts. The Alabama Project was selected by the U.S. Department of Education, in part, because it was the only submission which emphasized partnership between higher education institutions, school districts and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE). Facets of the book include a treatment of the structures and processes each university created to develop their unique program, the distinctive turnaround curriculum used at each university, the role of mentoring in developing aspiring rural school leaders and the internship experiences and practices which supported aspiring leader development. One of the most powerful changes witnessed during the project was the development of aspiring leaders by the major and ancillary partners. The cross-connections between K-12 districts, the ALSDE, and the three university educational leadership programs was a multifaceted and multi-layered collaborative approach. The partnerships not only strengthened within each master's program, but across agencies as a result of this project. The book will describe the value of partnership and leadership development through the eyes of the major contributors. The contributors or authors of the book will include the Alabama State Department of Education, the three educational leadership higher education institutions i.e. Auburn University, University of Alabama and Samford University, partner school district representatives and graduates of the program.

There is a large body of research that supports the reality that school leaders make a significant contribution to the success of schools and the students in them. Additionally, there is strong agreement among and between researchers and state and national educational leadership associations that educational leadership preparation and development should be created and implemented within university/ school partnerships. Although institutions engage in forming university/school partnerships for varied reasons, research on the extent to which these partnerships exist; their organizational structures and processes;their implementation and effectiveness; and elements that foster and hinder their success is limited. Perhaps more importantly, there is not a widely accepted, research-based model of such partnerships that practitioners and researchers can use to guide the development and assessment of these partnership endeavors and upon which they can conduct effective research. This book seeks to fill these gaps. It presents the purposes, processes, practices and outcomes of eleven university/school partnerships focused on school leadership preparation and/or development. Each chapter presents an overview of the partnership, elements that fostered and hindered partnership success, and lessons learned. The book concludes with a chapter that summarizes findings across all chapters and presents a school/university partnership model that can be used by those interested in forming, improving or researching similar partnership endeavors. There are no similar resources available in the field. Thus, this book makes an important contribution to the literature and to the world of practice and research.

The volume is divided into an introduction, Part II, which explores important concepts and ideas in regards to mentoring and then Part III which are essays from individuals whom Fran Kochan mentored throughout her life. In closing, Fran Kochan lives and breathes her words. Even today, she continues to work with scholars, practitioners and others she meets. She offers a guiding hand, she uplifts and she supports all that she meets. Please enjoy this volume of highlights of research from top mentoring experts who are peers of Dr. Kochan, as well as the tributes from a sampling of individuals she has mentored to successful careers. You will be inspired to learn how Dr. Fran Kochan masters both the art and science of mentoring. We honor her in this book as scholar, mentor, and friend.

Rural Turnaround Leadership Development: The Power of Partnerships focuses on a three- year rural turnaround leadership project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was designed to foster the development of a cohort of aspiring school leaders in rural high poverty/low performing K-12 school districts. The Alabama Project was selected by the U.S. Department of Education, in part, because it was the only submission which emphasized partnership between higher education institutions, school districts and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE). Facets of the book include a treatment of the structures and processes each university created to develop their unique program, the distinctive turnaround curriculum used at each university, the role of mentoring in developing aspiring rural school leaders and the internship experiences and practices which supported aspiring leader development. One of the most powerful changes witnessed during the project was the development of aspiring leaders by the major and ancillary partners. The cross-connections between K-12 districts, the ALSDE, and the three university educational leadership programs was a multifaceted and multi-layered collaborative approach. The partnerships not only strengthened within each master's program, but across agencies as a result of this project. The book will describe the value of partnership and leadership development through the eyes of the major contributors. The contributors or authors of the book will include the Alabama State Department of Education, the three educational leadership higher education institutions i.e. Auburn University, University of Alabama and Samford University, partner school district representatives and graduates of the program.