Come to the January ODNC meeting and hear first hand how organizational development professionals are playing critical roles in the educational system.

EXCEL (Evaluation Expertise for Councils and Education Leaders), is an initiative that began two years ago in response to demands from local school councils and school principals for better performance evaluation and goal-setting processes and tools.  Josephine Det, the EXCEL project manager for Leadership for Quality Education will talk about initiatives currently underway within the educational systems.

Working with the Chicago Public Schools, organizational development consultants are helping to facilitate the dramatic cultural shift from centralization to decentralization and to help increase accountability at all levels. 

Josephine Det will discuss:

• The synergies between the field of organizational development and current education reform efforts;
• Connections between OD and education, (EXCEL—principal evaluation, PENCUL—principal leadership);
• How OD can help bring about the necessary culture shift in the field of education, which has been traditionally so resistant to change;
• How OD can help principals, teachers, and other school leaders effectively use the powers and responsibilities that have been given to them; 
• How OD can help build up the systems and processes of accountability that need to be in place in a public education system that is becoming increasingly decentralized.

Our Co-Presenter is Jeff Kaliner.  Jeff is an OD consultant who worked with the Ball Foundation.  His charge was to coordinate and "do" OD work for Illinois schools, many downstate.  He also has
experience with the Edison Project as well as charter schools.  Jeff is currently an OD specialist for the Chicago Dept. of Public Health.