Municipal Leadership in Education (MLE) Project

The 2001-04 Municipal Leadership in Education project (MLE) was an intensive, 30-month technical assistance effort to help municipal leaders in six cities develop and implement strategies for improving educational outcomes within their communities. Participating cities include Charleston, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Lansing, Mich.; New Haven, Conn.; and Portland, Ore.

Over the course of the project, these cities broadened their awareness of the role municipal leaders can play in school improvement and identified several "lessons learned" to assist other municipal officials seeking to improve the quality of schools:

• Vigorous and sustained mayoral leadership yields big dividends;
• Contentious debates or fears regarding changes in school governance can quickly derail school improvement efforts;
• Strong city-school district partnerships depend on both personal relationships and institutional capacity; and
• Ongoing public engagement is essential to the sustainability of school improvement efforts.

MLE Publications & Resources

• Stronger Schools, Stronger Cities -  This is a detailed report which identifies each of the six cities' project goals and their lessons learned. If you would like a copy mailed to you, call 202-626-3014 and leave a message, or e-mail iyef@nlc.org.
  
• Special Report: Municipal Leadership in Education Yields Results - This brief report provides some roles for municipal leaders, a summary of the MLE project, and lessons learned from the six cities.