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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 1, 2005 South Medford High School band teacher Allen Barber demonstrates a drum riff for student Kyler Taft. Barber is enrolled in a new program at Southern Oregon University for would-be school administrators. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven SOU boasts licensing program By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Midway through a run-through of the jazz piece "Nutville," South Medford High School band teacher Allen Barber takes education into his own hands. He climbs down from his director’s chair, takes the drumsticks from student Tyler Taft and demonstrates a drum-and-cymbals riff that leaves his beginning jazz class smiling. Then he gives back the sticks and returns to the front of the class, a place where the 37-year-old veteran teacher has been comfortable — and effective — for 15 years. Soon, though, there might come a time when Barber wants to extend his expertise beyond the band room. With that in mind, he’s preparing for it now, as one of the first students enrolled in a new program for would-be school administrators launched by Southern Oregon University. Advertisement It’s a move prompted by practicality — and passion, says Barber. "The reasons are twofold. If something drastic were to happen to the music program here, I don’t want to leave this valley," he said. "And, it’s hard to effect district- wide change from this classroom." Until this year, Barber and the 18 other prospective administrators in his cohort had no options at SOU. But officials there decided to launch a program of their own, in part to compete for students — and tuition — with an existing regional program offered by Portland State University. "It’s the idea of serving the need," says Ken Kempner, the SOU education professor who’s directing the Initial Administrative License Program, or IAL. "It’s the idea of SOU taking its rightful place in the area." Along with the IAL program, SOU has also started a part-time master’s program in teaching to go head-to-head with a similar program offered by Concordia University in Portland. "SOU has always been trying to define its expertise under the shadow of the big sister institutions," said Kempner, a former University of Oregon professor and SOU dean. "It’s something we should not so much develop as reclaim," he said. Organizers agreed that the new 24-credit, 360-hour program should compete philosophically as well as physically with other plans, Kempner said. "The criticism of administrative education programs is that they’re professor-driven," he said. "This is student-driven." Instead of a series of linear courses, students participate in a series of themed classes led by SOU staff and augmented by working administrators in Southern Oregon schools. It has been an interesting, useful approach, said Barber, who started the year-long program last summer. Information from the working administrators has been particularly helpful, he said. "I’d rather hear their stories. That’s sometimes more beneficial than the texts or the articles we read," said Barber. The state Teacher Standards and Practices Commission requires credentials for administrators. Acquiring those credentials can be difficult for educators who already work long hours in the classroom. SOU has tried to ease that strain, along with the problem of geographical distance, by limiting face-to-face meetings and emphasizing flexibility. So far, it has appealed to a wide range of students. Several come from the far edges of Jackson County and a few travel from Klamath Falls, Kempner said. It’s not clear what effect SOU’s program has had on the PSU classes, which have been offered locally for about a decade. "Our numbers this year are similar," said Dan Johnson, who coordinates off-campus education programs for PSU. "We have 14 students in a cohort now, but we’ve had as many as close to 30." The cost for the programs is similar — about $6,000 a year. Many of the SOU students are paying less than half that because they’re able to use credit vouchers offered by the university to districts that host student-teachers. Barber estimates that his administrative license will cost him about $2,500. The voucher deal means that SOU doesn’t take in as much tuition revenue from IAL graduate students as others, but Kempner said that’s OK. "We’re covering our costs, we’re covering everybody’s salaries, so if we break even, that’s great," he said. For teachers like Barber, having a flexible, practical way to advance within his profession is a boon. As much as he enjoys the classroom, he might someday want the responsibility — and satisfaction — of being a principal or superintendent. Barber said he’s worked with administrators who have showed him the possibilities of leadership. "I want to follow in the footsteps of those good mentors," he said. Deadline for applications for the next cohort in SOU’s IAL program is April 1. For information, contact Kempner at 552-6417. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail SOU boasts licensing program ">[email protected] . The push to develop an administrative licensing program for school administrators was motivated in part by the knowledge that there soon may be a shortage of administrators in Southern Oregon. An informal survey conducted by the Southern Oregon Education Service District found that perhaps 40 percent of administrators working now plan to retire in the next five to eight years, said Steve Boyarsky, ESD superintendent. "We thought, ‘Hey, maybe we do need to grow our own resources,’" said Boyarsky, who was among several local administrators who advised Southern Oregon University officials as they designed the program. 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