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Client:	Dowling College
Problem:	Dowling College received $400,000 from the US Department of Education in April 2003 to establish the Center for Minority Teacher Development and Training (CMTDT). It is one of few higher education institutions dedicated exclusively to attracting disadvantaged minority students into the field of teaching. The CMTDT also provides diversity-specific professional development opportunities to educators who teach minority students. The CMTDT was a start-up college program with a newly hired Director and newly installed Advisory Board. They were charged with synchronizing and synergizing the CMTDT mission and programs with students' needs, partnership opportunities, funding requirements, and the mission of the college itself.
Solution:	Executive Performance principals were engaged by the Director to facilitate strategic planning, board development, instructional design, and website development services.
Result:	The 3-Year CMTDT Strategic Plan was developed, presented, and is currently being executed. Partnerships with other statewide providers of professional development for educators are being negotiated. Board development activities have been scheduled. Diversity-specific instructional design for professional development courses is in progress, and a CMTDT website has been designed.
Client:	Freeport (NY) School District
Problem:	Faced with escalating costs and a struggling local economy, the local school board and superintendent needed to engender community support to pass a "double-digit" school budget increase to maintain services and avoid devastating budget cuts. In an increasingly diverse community, some of the stakeholders involved included: the faculty union, an organized chamber of commerce, senior citizens, non-English-speaking new immigrant parents, and public and non-public school parents.
Solution:	An Executive Performance principal developed and coordinated a community-specific integrated "school budget" education and marketing communications strategy targeting the various stakeholder groups early in the school budget development process.
Result:	The school budget was passed.
Client:	Hempstead (NY) School District
Problem:	Faced with low-performing schools, escalating costs and a struggling local economy; the local school board and superintendent needed to engender community support to pass a "double-digit" school budget increase to maintain services and avoid devastating budget cuts. In an increasingly diverse community, some of the stakeholders involved included: a divided untrained school board, a new superintendent, the faculty union, "Main Street" business owners, senior citizens, non-English-speaking new immigrant parents, and public school parents.
Solution:	An Executive Performance principal designed and facilitated a weekend school board retreat focused on developing acceptable conflict resolution strategies within the school board. This was followed by an extensive board development program on municipal and educational systems, school board roles and responsibilities, labor relations, regulations, and finance. An Executive Performance principal developed and coordinated a community-specific integrated "school budget" education and marketing communications strategy targeting the various stakeholder groups early in the school budget development process.
Result:	The school budget was passed.
Client:	New York City Board of Education
Problem:	Each community school district needed to form a collaboration with unions, local businesses, parents, students, and faith- and community-based organizations to design their model for "schools as community resource centers" as part of the Corridor Initiative Project. The district had to develop the process using the principles of School-Based Management (SBM) through Shared Decision-Making (SDM). The district needed objective professional facilitation, research, and writing services to develop, document, and coordinate the presentation of a collaborative model/vision of "school as community resource center" to the central office.
Solution:	An Executive Performance principal facilitated and documented the collaborative community retreats, workshops, and meetings within the school district. Additionally, the principal conducted and presented "best practice" research and compiled/edited the district's final Corridor Initiative Project report.
Result:	The development of a new SBM/SDM process with the districts. The development of a Corridor Initiative Project community-based school model.
Client:	Roosevelt (NY) School District
Problem:	After years of low-performing schools, frequent superintendent and administrator turnover, student discipline problems, high taxes, and school board infighting; the state education department commissioner removed the local school board and instituted an historic state takeover of the public schools. The commissioner appointed a three-person panel to operate the public schools. Unfavorable and sometimes slanted media coverage further inflamed the already outraged community.
Solution:	An Executive Performance principal assisted in the formation and facilitation of a grassroots Citizens Advisory Committee which acted as an organized voice of the community during a chaotic and unprecedented state takeover process. The committee also became the liaison between the community and the state appointed panel. An Executive Performance principal provided crisis communications media relations (and media training) for the school district. This involved acting as primary media spokesperson, moderating news conferences, speechwriting, and pitching favorable school district stories (increased state funding, new grants and programs, profiles of panel and advisory committee members).
Result:	Concerned and disorganized community members about to become marginalized and disenfranchised during an unprecedented state takeover created a credible grassroots structure through which they represented community interests. The school district developed a media relations strategy and process, and achieved more balanced coverage of the historic state takeover.
Client:	SUNY at Old Westbury
Problem:	The Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury needed to develop and conduct college preparation/admissions workshops for the parents and families of minority/historically underrepresented secondary students from the following Long Island school districts: Amityville, Bay Shore, Central Islip, Copiague, Farmingdale, Freeport, Hauppauge, Hempstead, Islip, Longwood, Malverne, Patchogue/Medford, Riverhead, Roosevelt, South Country, Uniondale, Westbury, and Wyandanch. STEP is an academic program that prepares historically underrepresented and underserved secondary school students for entry into postsecondary degree programs in scientific, technical, and health-related fields, and licensed professions. The STEP program also provides activities to assist students in acquiring the skills and attitudes needed to pursue a postsecondary education.
Solution:	Executive Performance principals designed and conducted "The Road 2 College" seminar and its companion CD-ROM.
Result:	Anecdotal feedback/evaluation forms from parents and STEP faculty who attended the seminar have been exceptionally positive. Specifically, our student-centered 4-step process for focusing not merely on "the college choice," but on the "right student match" has proven highly effective. SUNY Old Westbury STEP Program administrators continue to engage our services for this seminar.