LI SCHOOL LEADERSHIP CENTER THE LISTSERV WHAT? YOU'RE NOT A MEMBER YET?

The LISTSERV of the LI School Leadership Center has proven to be an effective tool and highly valued service for building leadership capacity in the region. As of April 2008, over 35,500 e-mail addresses have been processed. (The Aspiring Administrators' LISTSERV group, the largest, numbers 3250.) Practitioners use it daily to share strategies, engage in joint problem solving or to receive articles of interest. A recent research study found that over 50% of the aspiring administrators view the LISTSERV as their primary professional mentor. What is the LISTSERV? The LISTSERV is a service provided by the Long Island School Leadership Center. The LISTSERV is supported by a NYS Legislative Grant through the efforts of Sen. Carl Marcellino. It is hosted through the generosity of Nassau BOCES using their computer server but services all members of the educational community in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. The goal of the service is to provide free and open communication through e-mail for educators regarding a wide range of leadership issues and topics. Just how many people are connected? The LISTSERV is actually made up of 38 different groups. Most are job title specific groups such as Superintendents, High School Principals, MS Assistant Principals, English Department Chairs, etc. If there is a job title, there probably is a LISTSERV group servicing that group. At of April 2008, over 35,500 e-mail addresses have been processed. The largest LISTSERV group is the Aspiring Administrators (defined as anyone desirous of more responsibility.) It presently has over 3250 members. There are also special interest groups such as college and university personnel who prepare future administrators, participants in NY Talks, and a minority administrators' forum to name a few. What kind of information is typically posted? Basically, there are two sources of postings. The moderator generates postings that might include such features as administrative job postings, journal articles of interest to the specific groups, announcements, etc. There have also been regular features such as the Distinguished Practitioner On Line, Book of the Week, case studies, Conference on Line, and interviews with noted educators. The other source of postings comes from the group members themselves. These can range from an exchange of ideas to a request for information from one's colleagues to mere social interaction. A typical week during the school year may see over 300 messages posted. Any message posted to the group is seen by all members of that group. May anyone join any group? No. You must have the job title to be a member of the specific group. The moderator controls membership access. The exception would be the Aspiring Administrators LISTSERV group which has open enrollment. May members in one group communicate with members in another? Not directly. "Cross-posting" can be done if the message is sent to the moderator at mkeany@aol.com How rapidly is the service expanding? The LISTSERV is presently growing rapidly as Long Island educators continue to learn of its capabilities. At present an average of about twenty new e-mail addresses are processed each week. At the end of the first year of operation (March 2002) there were a total of about 2500 members. In March 2003, the total had climbed to over 6000. At the end of August 2003, over 9400 addresses have been processed. As of April 1, 2008 over 32,500 addresses have been processed. (Note: Some individuals may be enrolled in more than one group. For example, a high school principal might be enrolled in the High School Principals LISTSERV and in the NY Talks group at the same time.) What if I have more questions or wish to enroll? Please contact the moderator, Michael Keany, at mailto:mkeany@aol.com Provide your e-mail address and present job title and school. It's that simple! You also might wish to join the LISLC's new Web 2.O site at www.schoolleadership.ning.com Please contact the moderator, Michael Keany, at mkeany@aol.com Provide your e-mail address and present job title and school. It's that simple!