Helping Educators Grow

Eleanor Drago-Severson is a professor of education leadership and adult learning and leadership at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard, where she taught from 1997 to 2005. Her research and teaching center on leadership for supporting adult development in K–12 schools, adult basic education/English for speakers of other languages (ABE/ESOL), and university contexts. Her work is inspired by the idea that schools must be places where adults as well as children can grow. Ellie is the author of Becoming Adult Learners: Principles and Practices for Effective Development (Teachers College Press, 2004), Helping Teachers Learn: Principal Leadership for Adult Growth and Development (Corwin, 2004), and Leading Adult Learning: Supporting Adult Development in Our School (Corwin/Sage Press, 2009). Helping Teachers Learn was recognized as the 2004 Book of the Year from the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward). Leading Adult Learning was awarded Learning Forward’s book of fall 2009. She is currently writing Learning and Leading Together (Corwin/Sage). Ellie has served as teacher, program designer, director, consultant, and professional developer in a variety of educational contexts, including K–12 schools, adult education community centers, and universities. She also was a lead researcher, with Robert Kegan, on the Adult Development Team of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) at Harvard University. She consults for coaches, leaders, and educational organizations on matters of personal and professional learning and development for superintendents, principals, and teachers, as well as on leadership supportive of adult growth domestically and internationally. Ellie has been awarded three distinguished teaching awards from Teachers College (2007), the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Morningstar Award (2005) for excellence in teaching, and Harvard Extension School’s Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1998). She grew up in the Bronx and lives in New York City with her husband, David.

"Eleanor Drago-Severson’s Helping Educators Grow is an ideal read for any educator, whether at the secondary or collegiate level, who aspires to create an environment that facilitates and supports leadership development. This book is unique in that it emphasizes the importance of developing one’s own abilities needed to teach, learn and lead in the field of education." — JoEllen Tharp, National Association for College Admission Counseling