The following special feature was chosen by the editors as a piece that may be useful for the ever important group of educational leaders in our school systems. We would welcome any comments you may have.

Special Feature: Overcoming Adversity: Resilience Development Strategies for Educational Leaders by by Farmer, Tod Allen (Certification Officer, Tarleton University)

Abstract: School leadership has never been easy. However, some experts like Garcia (2005) wrote that current school leaders are facing a variety of difficulties that make sustaining school reform efforts exceedingly difficult. Collectively, these modern day challenges have the capacity to form the perfect storm. School leaders need effective strategies to cope with these difficult circumstances and to continue the thrust toward school reform. Effective coping mechanisms and resiliency development strategies that can be used by educational leaders to overcome adversity include a routine of exercise and healthy diet, a positive life view, a sustained focus on building bridges between stakeholders, spiritual renewal, a focus on one’s personal mission, a determination to model resilience, and the utilization of supportive professional networks. Resilience development strategies can be effective in helping school leaders to overcome adversity and accomplish organizational objectives

The Effect of Anxiety on the Measurement of Reading Fluency and Comprehension by Tysinger, J. A., Tysinger, P. D., Diamanduros, T.  (GA Southern University), & Earley, A. C, (Gardner Edgerton Unified School District #231)

Abstract:  The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between anxiety and performance on measures of reading fluency and reading comprehension in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The study found that there is a significant negative correlation between social anxiety and reading comprehension but no significant correlation between social anxiety and reading fluency. These findings further demonstrate the distinction between the cognitive processes that underlie reading fluency and reading comprehension. The results also align with the tenets of Processing Efficiency Theory in that more complex tasks that significantly tax working memory (like reading comprehension) are more likely affected by anxiety than those tasks that do not rely as heavily on working memory (such as reading fluency).