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Stephen Fink Affiliate Associate Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Executive Director, Center for Educational Leadership 9709 3rd Avenue N.E., Suite 306 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98115 finks@u.washington.edu

Education Publications Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Stephen Fink is the executive director of the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL), and affiliate associate professor of educational leadership & policy studies in the University of Washington College of Education. Stephen has worked for many years with school district leaders focusing on the school district as the “unit of change” – particularly on developing systems-level leadership capacity for eliminating the achievement gap. In pursuit of this seemingly elusive goal, his particular interest is in helping school district leaders develop instructional leadership expertise.

In addition to directing CEL, Stephen provides facilitation and executive coaching for superintendent and district-level leaders in a number of CEL partnerships. Prior to coming to the University of Washington, he spent 12 years as an assistant superintendent in the Edmonds School District (Wash.), and was a principal and special education teacher in Idaho and Los Angeles. Dr. Fink is the co-author of the highly acclaimed book, Leading for Instructional Improvement: How Successful Leaders Develop Teaching and Learning Expertise.

Education

Ed.D., Brigham Young University, 1984

Publications

Fink, S. & Markholt, A.  (2011).  Leading for instructional improvement: How successful leaders develop teaching and learning expertise.  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.

Fink, S., and Silverman, M.  October 2008 Education Week  “The Not So Inevitable Failure of High School Conversions”

New Horizons for Learning Journal, Fall 2003, “The Courage to Lead an Equity Agenda.”

New Horizons for Learning Journal, Spring 2002, “Beyond the Rhetoric of the Achievement Gap.”

Teaching and Change,  April 2001, "Standards and Whole System Change."

Educational Leadership, October 1992, "How We Restructured Our Categorical
Programs."

Washington Association of School Principals News, Winter/Spring 1993-94, "Are You Serious About Change?"

Changing Schools: Insights, Papers prepared at the request of the Office of Policy and Planning, U.S. Department of Education, 1992, "Restructuring Categorical Programs for Low Performing and Handicapped Students."

Strategies For School System Leaders on District-Level Change, September 1994,  AASA/Panasonic Foundation Publication, "Building Labor and Management  Coalitions," editor for the section on Edmonds, WA, "Abiding by Stand-Alone Principles."

Strategies For School System Leaders on District-Level Change, July 1997, AASA/Panasonic Foundation Publication, "Powerful Connections: Clustering Schools and Networking Districts," editor for the section on Edmonds, WA, "The Mantra Is Keep It Simple."