Dr. Ronald A. Styron, Jr.
Assistant Professor
University of Southern Mississippi

Education

University of New Orleans
Doctor of Education—Educational Administration

University of Miami
Master of Music—Music Education

Loyola University
Bachelor of Music Education

Professional Experience and Responsibilities

Mandeville High School
Mandeville, La.
June, 1998-August 2002
Principal
Primary responsibilities included school curriculum and instruction, student
behavior management, finance and business management, personnel evaluation
and selection, and plant operations.

Southeastern Louisiana State University
Hammond, La.
June, 1998-August 2002
Facilitator, Louisiana Principal Internship Program
Primary responsibilities included site visits, coordination of area team meetings,
and inservice programming.

Southeastern Louisiana State University
Hammond, La.
June, 1995-August 1997
Adjunct Professor of Education
Primary responsibilities included serving as instructor.

Pearl River High School
Pearl River, La.
June, 1992-August, 1998
Principal
Primary responsibilities included school curriculum and instruction, student behavior management, personnel evaluation and selection, school business management and finance, and plant operations.

University of New Orleans
New Orleans, La.
August, 1991-June, 1992
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant
Primary responsibilities included working with the Accelerated School Program, research projects, and serving as Introduction to Education instructor.

Pearl River High School
Pearl River, La.
June, 1987-August, 1991
Assistant Principal
Primary responsibilities included coordinating curriculum and instruction, teacher
evaluation, plant operations, school calendar, special programs for at-risk students
including FOCUS, COPE and TIMS, distance learning programs including SERC, Star School, Telelearning, and TI-IN.

Slidell High School
Slidell, La.
June, 1986-August 1987
Assistant Principal
Primary responsibilities included coordination of plant operations, teacher evaluations and school calendar.

Clearwood Junior High School and Alton Elementary School
Slidell, La.
June, 1978 to June, 1986
Instrumental Music Instructor and Community Education Coordinator
Primary responsibilities included director of bands, classroom music
teacher, and the coordination and hiring of personnel, programming and payroll for Clearwood community education program.

Jefferson Parish School System
Harvey, La.
June, 1977 to June, 1978
Itinerant Elementary School Band Director and Classroom Music Teacher
Primary responsibilities included director of bands and classroom music teacher.

University of Miami
Coral Gables, Fla.
June, 1976 to May, 1977
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Primary responsibilities included private music lesson, performing with select
large and small ensembles and assisting the marching band director.

Our Lady of Divine Providence Elementary School
Metairie, La.
September, 1975 to May, 1976
Part-time Classroom Music Teacher
Primary responsibilities included choral director, general music and guitar
teacher.

Research

Grants

$93,000.00 award from the Mississippi Institute for Higher Learning.
Board to fund the University of Mississippi Summer Math Institute (2002-
2003).
U.S. Department of Education Grant Reviewer (2002).
$99,000.00 award from the Louisiana State Department of Education to
continue and expand Project Create (2001-2002).
$25,000.00 award from The School Leadership Center of Greater New Orleans to improve GEE, ACT and SAT scores through the use of technology (2001-2002).
$5,000.00 award from The School Leadership Center of Greater New Orleans to fund after-school tutorials aimed at improving standardized test scores.
$4,000.00 award from The School Leadership Center of Greater New Orleans to integrate technology into arts curriculum (2001-2002).
$99,000.00 award from the Louisiana State Department of Education to
fund “Project Create.” This project addressed ninth grade writing and research skills through the use of a mobile computer lab (2000-2001).

Publications

Styron, R. A. (2003). Yes, your school deserves the recognition! Manuscript to be published in the January, 2004 edition of the American School Board Journal.

Styron, R. A. (2003). Cited in Educational Technology. University of Illinois at Springfield http://otel.uis.edu.

Styron, R. A., Roberson, T., Schweinle, W. (2003). “Critical educational issues as identified by principals” Mid South Educational Research Association Proceedings.

Styron, R. A. & Disher, F. (2003). Want to improve school performance scores? T.H.E. Journal, 31(3), 40-42.

Styron, R. A. (2002). Blue Ribbon School Report. United States Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/offices.

Styron, R. A. (2002). Cited in Visionary Voices, Echoes of the Past…. Promise of the Future. New Orleans: University of New Orleans Publishing.

Styron, R. A. (2001). Cited in Visionary Voices, The Yellow Brick Road. New Orleans: University of New Orleans Publishing.

Kirby, P. & Styron, R. A. (1991). Inequities in School Computer Use. The Journal of At-Risk Issues, 1(2), 13-17.

Professional Presentations

“Critical educational issues as identified by principals.” Report presented November 6, 2003 at the annual Mid South Educational Research Association conference, Biloxi, MS., 2003.

“School Teaming.” Teacher inservice presentation at Prentiss High School, 2003.

“The Impact of No Child Left Behind.” Teacher inservice presentation at Hattiesburg High School, 2003.

“School Renewal.” Teacher in-service presentation at Dexter Attendance Center, 2003.

“The Impact of No Child Left Behind.” Teacher inservice presentation at Dexter Attendance Center, 2003.

“Effects of school accountability and No Child Left Behind.” Invited
guest panelist for the ETV Show, The Learning Exchange, 2003.

“Critical issues as identified by school principals.” Invited presentation at the Greater New Orleans School Leadership Center Spring Retreat, Ocean Springs, MS, 2003.

“What should first year principals should know about school management?” Invited presentation at the Greater New Orleans School Leadership Center prospective administrator training, New Orleans, La., 2003.

“Effective communication practices.” Invited presentation for the USM National Cohort, Hattiesburg, MS., 2003.

“Block Scheduling: Does it impact student achievement?” Invited presentation to district building-level administrators at the St. Tammany Parish School Board Workshop, Mandeville, La., 1997.

“Improving faculty morale.” Invited workshop presentation for St. Tammany Parish School Board administrators, Slidell, La., 1996.

“The impact of “Project FOCUS” on at-risk students” with Margo Lipka. Invited presentation at the Louisiana Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance convention, Lafayette, La., 1992

“Seven Period Day Scheduling.” Invited presentation
at the St. Tammany Parish School Board Workshop, Slidell, La., 1992.

“Inequities in School Computer Use.” Report presented at the American Educational Research Associate’s conference, Atlanta, GA., 1991.

“Are FOCUS students less likely to drop out of school?” with Margo Lipka. Invited presentation at the Governor’s Conference on Juvenile Justice, Baton Rouge, La., 1991

Service

Faculty Search Committee Co-Chair (2003-04).
NCATE Governance Committee (2003-04).
USM College of Education and Psychology Research Committee (2003-04).
Guest speaker, “Collective Bargaining,” for EDA 708 (2003).
“ Bonanza Day” Writing Quality Grant Proposals presentation (2003).
USM local and national cohort selection panelist (2003).
Hattiesburg High School inservice program facilitator (2003).
Guest speaker, “Communication,” for the International Cohort (2003).
Composed Power Point presentation and supplemental handouts on writing grant proposals and provided these resources to department members (2002).
Guest speaker, “The Principalship,” for EDA 704 (2002).
New Teacher Orientation Committee (2002).
Member of St. Tammany Parish Principal’s Liaison Committee (1998-2000).
Member of the St. Tammany Parish Staff Development Committee (1998-1999).
Member of the St. Tammany Parish Technology Committee (1997).
Member of the St. Tammany Parish Prospective Administrator Training
Committee (1997-2000).
Coordinating team member for the St. Tammany Parish Administrator’s Retreat (1989-2000).
Member of the St. Tammany Parish Goals 2000 planning team member (1995).
Coordinating team member for School Team Training inservice (1989-1991).
Chairperson of the Student Achievement Sub-Committee to the St. Tammany
Parish Long-Range Planning Committee (1988-1999).
Music chairperson for the St. Tammany Parish Fine Arts Advisory Committee (1986).
Junior high school instrumental music coordinator for the Louisiana Music
Educator’s Association District IX (1985-1986).
Guest conductor, Laurel Honor Band (1985).
St. Tammany Parish Junior High School Large Ensemble Festival Coordinator (1983).
St. Tammany Parish Junior High School Instrumental Music Teacher Inservice
Coordinator (1978).

Teaching

Leadership Institute of the New South Co-Director (2003-04).
Dissertation committee member and chair (2003-2004).
Graduate student advisor (2002-2004).
Developed Power Point presentations for all courses (2002-2003).
Selected new text books for EDA 742, EDA 620, & EDA 700 along with
appropriate course revisions (2002-2003).
Developed online Lecture Supplements and Web Companions for EDA 742 and
EDA 620 (2002-2003).
Implemented School-To-Work courses at Mandeville High School (1998-2002).
Expanded gifted and advanced placement courses at Mandeville High School
(1998-2002).
Coordinated Southern Association of Schools reaccredidation for Mandeville High School (2000) and Pearl River High School (1995).
Designed and established the “Acceleration Center” for at-risk students at Pearl River High School (1997).
Initiated special programs for at-risk students including FOCUS, COPE,
TIMS and JTPA at Pearl River High School (1987-1996).
Initiated expansion of curricular offerings including advanced placement,
honors, gifted and talented classes at Pearl River High School (1987-1996).
Coordinated distance learning programs including SERC, Star Schools,
Telelearning and TI-IN at Pearl River High School (1987-1996).
Coordinated the piloting and subsequent implementation of the seven period day at Pearl River High School (1987).
Served as facilitator for Reality Therapy Workshop (1980).

Professional Affiliations

American Educational Research Association.
American Association of School Administrators.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Greater New Orleans School Leadership Center.
Mid-South Educational Research Association.
National Association of Secondary Principals.
National Parent Teacher Association, lifetime member.
Phi Delta Kappa.
Louisiana Association of Principals (1992-2002).
Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators (1987-2002).
Louisiana Association of School Executives (1986-2002).
Louisiana High School Athletic Association (1987-2002), District 11-
AAA Treasurer (1997-1999) and District 6 5-A President (1999-2002).
Louisiana Educational Research Association.
St. Tammany Parish School System Association of School Administrators
(1987-2002), Treasurer (1996-1998), President (1998-2000).

Certifications

Louisiana District Supervisor.
Louisiana K-12 Principal.
Louisiana Principal Internship Program Facilitator.
Louisiana Superintendent.
Louisiana Supervision of Student Teaching.
Louisiana Teacher Assessment Program Evaluator.
Louisiana Teacher Internship Program Evaluator.

Professional Growth

Mid-South Educational Research Association conference (2003).
WebCT Workshop (2002).
Tom Bauer Grant Writing Workshop (2002).
Louisiana High School Athletic Association Conference (1992-2002).
National Association of Secondary Schools Conference (1997).
St. Tammany Parish Intensive Scheduling Workshop (1997).
Learning Academies and School-Based Enterprise Workshop (1996).
Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Workshop (1996).
School to Career Workshop (1996).
Quality Management Workshop (1995).
Project BEST Conference (1994-1995).
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Workshop (1994).
Project LEAD Workshop (1993-1994).
Personnel Evaluation Workshop (1993).
America 2000 Conference (1991).
Building Self-Esteem Workshop (1990).
Cognitive Coaching Workshop (1988).

Graduate Courses Taught

Cohort Block III (USM)
Consensus Building and Shared Decision-Making (USM)
Contextual Dimensions of the Principalship (USM)
Public School Finance (SLU & USM)
Research Design (SLU)
School Business Management (SLU & USM)
School Facility Planning and Utilization (SLU)
Supervision of Instruction (USM)

Undergraduate Courses Taught

Introduction to Education (UNO)

Professional Honors

Selected to AcademicKeys Who's Who in Education (WWE):
http://Education.AcademicKeys.com (20003).
Mandeville High School “National School of Excellence, Blue Ribbon
School” (2001-2002).
“ St. Tammany Parish School Board Secondary Principal of the Year” (2000-2001).
Leadership Center of Greater New Orleans Fellow (2000-2003).
Louisiana Parent Teacher Association “State of Louisiana Educator of
Distinction” (1999-2000).
“ St. Tammany School Board Secondary Principal of the Year” (1997-1998).
“Louisiana Regional Secondary Principal of the Year” (1997-1998).
Slidell Chamber of Commerce “Principal of the Year” (1996-97).
City of Slidell Award for Campus Beautification (1987).
Sweepstakes Award at the St. Tammany Parish Large Ensemble Festival
(1982 & 1983).

References

Provided upon request.