CMU Graduate Studies having a national impact on education

Colorado Mesa University alumnus Brig Leane, MBA, 通过所谓的专业学习社区过程，了解了“教学生”和“确保学生学习”之间的区别——根据Leane的说法，这种教育方法“对学生的学习和教师的专业成长产生了巨大的影响”.他在CMU获得第二个硕士学位时第一次接触到这个概念.

“孤立对美国教师来说是相当典型的，这对他们所服务的学生来说并不是最好的. 研究表明，当教师共同努力，以确保学生的学习, students and teachers benefit," said Leane. “Without a meaningful and highly effective collaborative culture, teacher effectiveness is capped, 有经验的教师退休了，新教师面对的是越来越复杂的教室, alone.”

为了应对这一挑战，Leane正在全国推广教师必须共同努力的概念，并提供必要的工具来实施这一简单但困难的理念.

从CMU的研究生到国家教育领袖，利恩的道路并不传统. In this way 他与CMU大量招收非传统学生的做法有很多共同之处. The U.S. 海岸警卫队和预备役占据了他的第一个职业生涯，在那里，Leane获得了中尉指挥官的军衔，监督了50多名军官和入伍的服役人员.

“As an officer 我拥有土木工程学位，并在全国各地从事人道主义任务多年,” said Leane. “I was promoted rapidly, but ready for new challenges. 值得庆幸的是，我被选为“部队到教师”项目的接受者，这让我真正热爱教学.”

After completing his service to country, Leane began a teaching career that lasted from 1999-2009. His first teaching assignment was at El Cajon High School in California, a 22-language inner-city school, and after returning to Grand Junction, Leane entered into what appeared a more traditional, 在帕利塞德高中以及布克克利夫和雷德兰兹中学担任当地教师.

当Leane在CMU了解到PLC流程时，他想立即实现这一理念. 他与他的主题伙伴一起工作，他们一起亲身体验了PLC过程的力量, as their math students grew more than any other school team, in any grade, in any tested subject, in the entire 22,000-student school district, including the previous three years of state data.

Leane将他的成功归功于他在CMU获得的教育学硕士学位.

“虽然我在CMU的商学高级学位教会了我为一个组织建立共同愿景的重要性, and about how the tools of finance, strategy, marketing and accounting ensure a community’s shared vision becomes a reality, 我的教育学硕士学位帮助我将所学知识运用到课堂上,” said Leane.

When cynicism about U.S. education looms large, Leane brought his CMU advanced degrees, armed services background, 激情和创造力超越了有时在教育中阻碍创造力的挑战.

“我相信公共教育的力量是美国成功的基石之一，也是每个孩子未来成功的关键,” said Leane.

由于他在课堂上的出色表现，Leane被提升为校长. 他担任副校长，并很快被选为Fruita中学的校长, a school known for teacher independence. 作为Fruita中学校长，他的领导使FMS组织健康指数从最低上升到最高. 这种转变推动了学校成为国家模范专业学习社区(PLC)的地位, 这是当时该州仅有的三所获得这一称号的学校之一.

During the transformation, Fruita中学是梅萨县51学区唯一一所pp电子极速糖果在所有测试科目中都高于州中位数的中学, 在所有年级和每个由科罗拉多州测量的学生人口分组中. “看到老师们齐心协力为学生们制定明确的目标是令人兴奋的, 让学生知道他们可以做到，并在他们需要的时候给予他们有针对性的帮助,” said Leane. “Kids were the real winners, but the teachers gained so much too.”

Out of the approximately 100,000 schools in the United States, Fruita Middle School was recognized in 2017 on GettingSmart.Com的年度名单是美国85所教育工作者应该参观的学校之一.  

当Leane被邀请为“解决方案树”(一家为教育工作者和管理人员提供学校改进解决方案的主要供应商)撰写一本书时，他作为一名管理者的成功获得了全国的关注. This moment changed the trajectory of his career. The review also revealed the true value of his MBA from CMU. The project resulted in numerous consulting offers around the nation. 在过去的几年里，Leane在美国各地的大大小小的团体和会议上做过演讲.S. in over 15 states. His lectures and presentations are featured in Phi Delta Kappan magazine, Principle Leadership magazine and in ASCD’s online learning platform. 根据利恩的说法，他在全国教育方面的工作反映了里克的影响 & Becky DuFour, Mike Mattos and Anthony Muhammad.

Despite Leane’s emergence as a national leader in education, 他记得自己从CMU获得的东西，并将自己视为大学大使.

“我在CMU学到的东西正是全国各地的学校为了学生的利益而想要学习的东西. 我还记得在CMU的一个关于专业学习社区的教育领导项目中指定的阅读材料,” said Brig. “The reading changed the way I taught, changed the culture of the school I was in charge of and changed my life.”

布里格和他的妻子金抚养着三个女儿，她们都在51区的公立学校上学. He is a proud graduate of Grand Junction High School and of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, as well as a former service member of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Leane said that, “公共教育是非常仁慈的，我想尽我所能来改善它.  在教育所有孩子这一日益复杂的任务中，教师比以往任何时候都更加努力, 我正在用我的经验和知识帮助其他学校成为当地和全国范围内高效的合作团队.”

“Go Mavs Masters,” concluded Leane.