Faculty Profile

Degrees:

Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, EKU

Rank I School Administration, EKU

M.S. Secondary Education, UK

B.S. Mathematics, UK

Certifications:

Superintendent

Supervisor of Instruction

Director of Pupil Personnel

School Principal

Secondary Teacher (Mathematics/Physical Science)

Positions Held in P-12 Education:

Director of Pupil Personnel, Director of Human Resources, Save-the-Children Grant Coordinator, Textbook Coordinator, Supervisor of Instruction, District Assessment Coordinator, Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Career and Technical Education Coordinator, Curriculum Specialist, Middle School Principal, District Management Review Corrective Action Plan Officer, High School Interim Principal, High School Assistant Principal, Highly Skilled Educator at KDE (team leader), High School Teacher (science, math, computer programming)(department chair)(SBDM council member), Substitute Teacher, Assistant Graduate Chair, & CU School of Education (1/1/21 to 7/31/23)

Current Memberships:

Kentucky Association of School Administrators

Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel

Kentucky Colonels

Phi Beta Kappa

Courses Taught at CU:

AED 720 School Finance

AED 721 School Law

AED 802 Organizational Frameworks and Human Resources

AED 803 Evaluation of Staff and Culture

AED 804 Diversity in a Global Society

AED 805 Curriculum

AED 806 Fundamentals of School Administration

AED 807 School Principal Internship

AED 811 Fundamentals for Central Office Administrators (designed the course)

AED 812 Leading Assessment

AED 813 School System Director of Pupil Personnel Internship (designed the course)

AED 900 Administrative Support of Teacher Growth and Student Achievement

AED 901 Reflective Practice for School Leaders

AED 904 Organizational Leadership

AED 906 Fiscal Management, Law, and Ethics

AED 911 Mathematics Cognitive Coaching (designed the course)

AED 912 Student Services (designed the course)

AED 913 School and Community Collaboration (designed the course)

ED 605 Research Methods and Procedures

ED 665 Research Methods

ED 670 Action Research Practicum I

ED 675 Action Research Practicum II

ED 704 Nature and Needs of Diverse Learners

GTE 520 Introduction to Gifted and Talented Education

Publications Since Coming to CU:

· Allen, L., Wallace, J., & Thomas, F. (2023). Grow your own programs: An opportunity for universities and school districts to collaborate and reshape principal preparation. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 20(2), 30-35.

· Thomas, F. (2025). Improving mentoring of alternatively certified school administrators in Kentucky. International Journal of Arts, Humanities, and Social Studies, 6(2), 1-7.

· Authored chapter (PSEL Standard 2 Ethics and Professional Norms) in the book School Leadership: Let the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) Make Your Work More Effective

· Authored chapter (Protection from the Strong Hand of God) in the book Long Handled Hoe?

· Authored chapter (What Servant Leadership Is and Is Not) in the book Service in the Trenches: School Principals Share True Stories of Servant Leadership

· Authored chapter (Baby Bear Wants His Porridge. Now!) in the book School Safety: True Stories and Solutions from School Leaders

· Authored chapters (They’ll Be Fine. Kids Are Resilient. Please Stop Saying That.)(Trix Are for Kids. SEL Is for Adults Too.) in a book about SEL (Social Emotional Learning and Servant Leadership: True Stories from the Classroom)

Presentations Since Coming to CU:

· Introduction to Cognitive Coaching at the Principal Partnership Project’s EdCamp Conference (January 2021)

· CAEP Accreditation Visit Tips at a University Principal Preparation Initiative Meeting (January 2023)

· Grow Your Own: Universities and School Districts Collaborate to Reshape Principal Preparation at the National Conference on Education (with Dr. Lisa Allen and Dr. Joseph Wallace) (February 2023)

· Fostering Mutually Beneficial Collaboration Between School Principals and District Directors of Pupil Personnel at the Principal Partnership Project’s EdCamp Conference (January 2024)

· ’Grow Your Own’ Principal Preparation Collaborative Model Phase II at the National Conference on Education (with Dr. Joseph Wallace) (February 2024)

· The Big Picture of the Teaching Profession at the Kentucky Educators Rising Conference (March 2024)

· Servant Leadership and Emotional Intelligence: Fruitful Relationships and Personal Growth at Central Kentucky EDUCON (with Dr. Joseph Wallace) (June 2024)

· Introduction of the Journal of Advances in Education at a University Principal Preparation Initiative Meeting (November 2024)

· Using Scholarly Research to Support Your Work as Principal at Principal Partnership Project’s EdCamp (January 2025)

· Service Excellence: Creating a ‘Culture of Care’ and Relationship in the Higher Education Classroom at the Eastern Educational Research Association 48th Annual Conference (with Dr. Joseph Wallace) (February 2025)

· Chaired a paper presentation session during which researchers from around the nation presented papers pertaining to special education and social-emotional learning topics at the Eastern Educational Research Association 48th Annual Conference (February 2025)

· Mentoring New School Administrators at the Eastern Educational Research Association 48th Annual Conference (February 2025)

Dissertation Topic:

The Relationship Between Advanced Academic Services and College Readiness Among Public High School Students in Rural Remote Appalachian Kentucky

Editor of the Journal of Advances in Education (a peer-reviewed journal based at CU currently under development with an anticipated summer 2025 launch date)

Miscellaneous Scholarship:

Peer reviewed book chapter (Redefining Education- The Future of Human-AI Collaboration) for IGI Global Scientific Publishing

University Service:

· Mentor for Option 6 (alternatively certified) school and district leaders

· Participant in the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI)

· CAP portfolio reviewer

· Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Standard One Committee (Chair 2020-2024)

· Institutional Review Board (IRB) Member (2025-)

· New Programs Committee (2023-)

· University supervisor for student teacher (2021 & 2025)

· Chair of the Advisory Council for Administrative Programs (2023-2024)

· School of education representative on the CU Honors Council (2020-2024)

· Conducted site visits at other universities as part of their CAEP accreditation process (2020-2024)

· Conducted content reviews of administrator preparation programs for KDE (2020-2021)

· Technology Committee (2020)

Franklin Thomas

Franklin Thomas

Associate Professor of Education