Earlham Educational Forum

Presenter's Biography

Richard "Dick" Sagor is the founding director of ISIE (pronounced "I see"), the Institute for the Study of Inquiry in Education a consulting service dedicated to advancing the professional development capacity of local school faculties.

In the Spring of 2008 Dick retired from his position as the Director of the Educational Leadership Program at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Prior to Lewis and Clark, he served as a Professor of Educational Leadership at Washington State University and directed Project LEARN (the League of Educational Action Researchers in the Northwest).

Before entering higher education Dick had 14 years of Public School administrative experience including service as an Assistant Superintendent, High School Principal, Instruction Vice Principal, Disciplinary Vice-Principal, and Alternative School Head Teacher. His taught a range of students, from the gifted to the learning disabled, in the areas of social studies, reading, and written composition.

Educated in the public schools of New York, Dick received his B.A Degree from New York University before moving to the Pacific Northwest where he earned two M.A. Degrees and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Oregon.

Beyond his work as a teacher and administrator, Dick has had extensive international consulting experience. He has worked as a site visitor for the United States Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School Program, he has consulted with numerous State Departments of Education, and with hundreds of independent school districts across North America. He has also provided staff development workshops for international schools in Asia, South America and Africa.

Dick's consulting is focused primarily on:

  • Leadership Development

  • Data and Standard-Based School Improvement

  • Collaborative Action Research

  • Teacher Motivation

  • Teaching at-Risk Youth

  • Professional Learning Communities

His articles on school reform, and action research have received awards from the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Educational Press Association of America.

Dick's his written several books including:

  • The TQE Principal: A Transformed Leader

  • At-Risk Students: Reaching and Teaching Them

  • Motivating Students and Teachers in an Era of Standards

  • Guiding School Improvement with Action Research

  • The Action Research Guidebook: A 4-Stage Process for
    Educators and School Teams

  • Professionalizing Teaching: Collaborative Action Research &
    Professional Learning Communities
    (to be published in Summer 2009)