0.3 Allen, a., & Gawlik, m. (july 2009). preparing district and

Introduction

Given the growth of charter schools over the last 15 years and the different skill sets charter school leaders require (Campbell, Gross,&Lake, 2008), it is appropriate that educational leadership programs prepare students for leadership in both district and charter schools. To do otherwise would be a disservice to students and a missed opportunity to contribute to the leadership needs of a growing portion of public schools. As the charter school movement grows, some colleges and universities are creating offerings that incorporate the special needs of charter school leaders, while others are developing separate programs specifically and exclusively for public charter schools principals. With a new focus of school leadership beginning to unfold, we see a need to examine the special needs of charter school leaders, how charter school leadership development fits within traditional school leadership programs, and the potential effects of separate leadership programs for district and charter school leaders on public education. With this paper, we hope to begin this discussion.

In this article, we sketch a framework that integrates contributions from educational leadership theories, including an examination of the systems perspective (Kuhn, 1966; Senge, 1990) and the democratic mission of public schooling (Gutmann, 1987; Dewey, 1916). We argue that although there has been a broad review of charter school research, a closer examination of the history of school leadership, coupled with a comparison of district and charter school leadership roles, will yield potential areas for further leadership and research. Specifically, we explore the larger question of how separate leadership programs for public charter and public district school leaders might divide or enhance democratic goals for public education, including equity (Abernathy, 2005; Fuller, Elmore,&Orfield, 1996; Nathan, 1996), social cohesion (Levin,&Belfield, 2003; Riehl, 2000), and democratic engagement and participation (Gutmann, 1987; Mintrom, 2003). The question this paper addresses is: How might professional schools of education move forward to meet the special needs of charter school leaders while maintaining a common mission for public education? Underlying this question is a series of questions, including: