An exciting and innovative Field Experience Intern Program for school leadership graduate students to apply and practice learned leadership theory and concepts is successfully underway at National University-California. This university has established partnerships with local school district employers that provide intern administrators the opportunity to meet together as a group on current practical administrative issues, and requires them to complete extended activities for each regular course that translates theory into practice. In addition, the university instructor meets with the intern’s mentor at the school site each month for eight months that guides, supervises and evaluates each student’s fieldwork activities and his/her working relationship with their mentor. This study will examine the collaborative reflection on practical school leadership activities in relationship to administrative theory and varied content domains from the knowledge and content of the graduate courses in this program. It will also analyze the partnership linkage between the university and the school district mentors. This study will gather and analyze important information regarding the support network for intern administrators, and how that translates into success for intern administrators once they complete the university program and become full-time school leaders. Since this school administrative intern program is only in its third year of implementation, this study will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the program.

No recent educational reform has had a greater challenge on the leadership of public school leaders than the "No Child Left Behind (NCLB)" Act, as they struggle to successfully implement its requirements. Passed by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President George W. Bush in January 2002, this legislation was a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Title I Act that has carried new and ambitious mandates to improve achievement for all students over a period of five years for school districts, and developed data systems to track the state's efforts. It also includes a significant intervention processes for failing schools.  NCLB has many goals, but the foremost goal is to close the achievement gap between various racial and ethnic groups, poor and non-poor, those who have disabilities and those who do not, and English language learners and fluent English speakers.  This study will examine the multiple leadership challenges of implementing the NCLB reforms, and the high-stakes responsibility and role of school leaders in formulating innovation to meet its requirements, managing change at local schools, while still preserving the autonomy of local school districts and decentralization of individual schools. This study will also analyze the results of NCLB mandates, its effect on student academic achievement, highly qualified teachers, lack of consistent federal funding, its accountability impact on school performance, and the future of this reform.