The School Administrator Internship Handbook: Leading, Mentoring, and Participating in the Internship Program

School administration internships are a central ingredient in any preservice program, and they can be very effective if they are well-organized and well-designed. Capasso and Daresh have created a blueprint for an effective internship program that can turn preservice administrators into transformational leaders, not simply organizational survivors.

The School Administrator Internship Handbook is written for the intern, to both understand the internship program and the roles of all of the participants in the program. The book helps the intern self-assess leadership ability, challenge one′s commitment to the field, become a reflective practitioner, and collaborate with the field mentor and the university faculty member to make the internship a rich and valuable experience.

Internship directors will find that the handbook addresses them as well, providing opportunities to assess students′ abilities to take theory to practice, develop community outreach programs, and assess the effectiveness of the entire preservice program. And mentors will get a clear understanding of their role in facilitating the intern′s experience.

 Other key topics include:

• Examining current practices
• Establishing goals and objectives
• Defining internship standards
• Preparing project proposals
• Developing leadership skills
• Understanding the roles of the participants
• Evaluating and assessing the participants and the program
• Moving beyond the internship

Finally, an effective blueprint for preservice programs! This practical guide is designed for everyone involved in the school administrator internship, especially the men and women who will be stepping into assistant principalships, principalships, and other administrative roles.

Ronald L. Capasso is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. He has spent 30 years in public school education, having served twelve years as a superintendent of schools in Pennsville, New Jersey and five years as an Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Ramsey, New Jersey. He has also served as a consultant and speaker for the U.S. Office of Education, the New Jersey State Department of Education, and various government agencies and school districts.

John C. Daresh has spent more than 20 years in higher education, having served as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Northern Colorado, Ohio State University, and the University of Cincinnati. He has also worked as a consultant and speaker for school districts, universities, and state departments of education across the United States and in England.

Ronald L. Capasso is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. He has spent 30 years in public school education, having served twelve years as a superintendent of schools in Pennsville, New Jersey and five years as an Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Ramsey, New Jersey. He has also served as a consultant and speaker for the U.S. Office of Education, the New Jersey State Department of Education, and various government agencies and school districts.

John C. Daresh is professor of educational leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso. Over the years, he has held faculty or administrative appointments at the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, the University of Northern Colorado, and Illinois State University. He has also worked as a consultant on high school reform and administrator professional development for universities, state departments of education, national and state professional associations, and individual schools and districts across the United States, and also in Barbados, Canada, France, Holland, Israel, Turkey, South Africa, and Taiwan. By far, the bulk of Daresh’s international service has been in the United Kingdom where he served an advisor and trainer for the School Management Task Force that developed and promoted support programs for beginning headteachers, the National College for School Leadership, the Welsh Office of Education, the North West Network for Diploma Development in Cheshire, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Lincoln, the University of Hull, CREATE Consultancies, and literally dozens of Local Education Authorities and individual schools across England and Wales.

Daresh recently completed three years of service as the lead consultant on principal mentoring programs for the Chicago Public Schools as that megadistrict was faced with the challenge of bringing in mostly inexperienced principals to serve in nearly of the school system’s elementary and high schools.