Education Consulting Group

NESC's Education Consulting Group (ECG) offers proven techniques to enhance the leadership and management abilities of public and private school administrators. Since the mid-1980s, ECG has provided practical, results-oriented consultancies matched to the unique needs of its clients. These comprehensive, customized programs address issues such as curriculum, recognizing team issues and goals, creating strategic plans and ensuring that specific goals are met.

Distinguished educators and executives form the ECG's team of dynamic, multi-disciplinary professionals who are trained to find answers. They are people who understand the demanding requirements of the educational world and are committed in their enthusiasm to make your projects succeed. Consultancies are closely tailored to the special needs of each client, and can be designed for group seminars, meeting effectiveness or one-on-one personal support.

The ECG has been working in partnership with Teachers College at Columbia University and the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution to bring principals, teachers and parents together to have a positive impact on their schools. Business people act as facilitators and as mentors to educators, discussing issues pertinent to instructional effectiveness. These advisors, carefully matched to ensure chemistry, help by providing outsider executive insights and broader perspectives on school issues and concerns.

The Leadership Development Program for Principals/Assistant Principals

"... whenever a school improves, the reason, almost always, is a high-powered principal able to buck the system and inspire effective classroom teaching. Similarly, behind a failed school is almost always an indifferent principal."

"My Public School Lesson"
by Sol Stern, Autumn 1997 issue of CityJournal, page 16.

Understanding this, NESC's work in education targets school principals as agents of reform. The Leadership Development Program (LDP) consists of a series of off-site seminars/workshops coupled with on-site mentoring by volunteer retired executives. This series of seminars/workshops have been staged in New York City, Washington DC, Schenectady, Boston, Detroit, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

This program offers principals the opportunity to read, think and reflect about a broad array of important issues affecting education -- management, school restructuring, curriculum reform, team building, teacher development, expectations for student achievement, student involvement in school affairs and the principal's own leadership style. These issues are examined through selected readings and guided group discussion, in an affirmative learning environment to help improve their insight and understanding of, among other things:

• the nature of educational leadership and the participant's own style of leadership and management;
  
• the difference between leadership and management in a school setting;
  
• the external conditions which influence the operation of a school system and a school;
  
• the learning styles of students in a particular school system;
  
• how to improve teacher performance and the teaching/learning environment; and
  
• the ways in which families of students can be involved in schools and become more helpful in the education of their children.

"I would recommend these seminars to all principals, new or experienced, mainly because the seminars will provide them with opportunities to discuss issues pertinent to their effectiveness as instructional leaders. The aspects of the seminar that were most helpful to me were the assigned readings and the subsequent discussions directly or indirectly connected to the readings. The readings served to confirm beliefs I have had for some time, to raise related issues, and made me think about some issues that I had not thought about. I plan to revisit these issues through further discussion and readings."

a recent LDP program participant

Each participant in the LDP gains an increased understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the educational programs in their school and the ways by which their leadership can improve their school's teaching/learning environment. In addition, the program helps principals diminish their sense of isolation by giving them the opportunity to share insights with colleagues beyond their districts.

To find out more about how the ECG can help you meet your objectives for your school, school district, or other nonprofit educational organization, please contact us.