Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1988

Thesis Director

David E. Bartz

Abstract

Being the Director of an Educational Service Center is a position of challenge, responsibility, and leadership. The internship consisted of managing the day-to-day operations of the center and completing two major projects. The first project had been implemented in the center's Full Service Plan involving the recognition of exemplary programs. The second assignment was directed by the General Assembly in regard to family life-sex education.

The day-to-day operations involved managing the Educational Service Center #17's summer staff. The staff consisted of the bookkeeper and two secretaries. Leadership and management skills were necessary. Being punctual, being productive, setting goals, praising staff, and communicating effectively are examples of how the E.S.C. #17 office was operated during this internship.

"Praiseworthy Programs to Pattern" was a project designed to recognize exemplary school district programs in the areas of mathematics, science, foreign language, computer science, and reading. Task force members identified various academic programs in the E.S.C. #17 area. A resource guide was developed to recognize each program and its instructor. Questionnaires were mailed to all instructors to obtain necessary information. This data was transferred to a form, then computerized. Letters were written to the superintendents in districts where the exemplary programs were located. The letter contained a summary of the resource guide and its purpose.

A Resource Directory was created to satisfy a request from the General Assembly. The request was to develop a plan for regional delivery of family life-sex education. The directory housed listings of agencies, organizations, bureaus, clubs, projects, and resource people and materials which dealt with family life-sex education. The information was obtained by phone calls, letters, and visits to various agencies. All information was organized by the county in which it was located. A paragraph was written describing the type of service offered. A final section was developed which contained the names of resource people and materials which are available to the public.

The leadership role comes natural for the intern. The projects that were designed were fully completed by the intern. It was a valuable experience. The intern was given responsibilities with little direction on how to complete the tasks. There was a sense of satisfaction upon completion of the major projects. It was discovered that there is much job satisfaction encountered when given responsibilities with little direction and being praised for one's performance.

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