Women getting an education in leadership

While some career fields may look rather bleak at the moment, such as financial institutions and real estate, others are forging strongly ahead — for example, education.

Women Education Leaders in Virginia is hosting its 10th annual conference with a theme of inspiring leadership. With all the top-notch and savvy women in high positions attending, the conference can’t help but be inspiring.

The conference will be March 26 and 27 at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville. One featured guest speaker is Justice Elizabeth Lacy, the first woman appointed to the Virginia Supreme Court and the first to serve on the State Corporation Commission.

Margaret Blackmon, executive director of Women Education Leaders in Virginia, said usually between 100 and 140 people attend the conference.

“The key is to provide the opportunity for women to network and to grow women into leadership roles,” Blackmon said. “Women are often encouraged to do the secondary roles, such as assistant principal. More and more people are needed to be superintendents and principals.”

Blackmon became a school superintendent in 1997 and is retired from Prince Edward County. She said we have two “fine examples” of school superintendents here in Charlottesville and Albemarle County: Rosa Atkins and Pamela Moran.

“The political part of [the job] is hard,” Blackmon said. “Instruction is what people are concerned with — women are good at that. We have a long history of classroom instruction.”

The conference will be “cutting edge” as well, Blackmon said.

Nancy Deford and Kathy Welling from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development will talk about the “campaign for the whole child.” She explained that a movement started several years ago by ASCD “looks beyond the testing.” The focus is on the “whole child,” including health, working with the parents and the community’s role.

The Virginia ASCD is co-sponsoring the conference, along with the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. To find out more about the Virginia organization, go to www.vaascd.org.

Mary Kusler, assistant director of government relations for AASA, will talk about President Barack Obama’s education initiative, and Patricia Wright, Virginia superintendent of public instruction, will follow up with how the state plans to handle that initiative.

There will be a panel discussing career paths, another panel discussing communication skills to deal with a new generation and still another on the topic of how to manage a school in tough economic times.

“We feel like this is going to be a great conference,” Blackmon said. “People are coming from all over the state.”

The conference is for women of all different ages, and she particularly hopes to encourage those who want to attend to bring others with them who they see as having potential for leadership, such as new teachers who she hopes will “think really hard about leadership roles.”

There also will be a reception on March 26 honoring women superintendents, college presidents and “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” award winners.

Registration for the conference is $250. To register, call Judy Lam at (540) 832-7666 or e-mail welv@veri zon.net. For more information, call Blackmon at 603-1941. You also can check out the Web site (and register) at www.welv.org.