• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main navigation
Baylor University
Baylor Center for School Leadership
School of Education
  • About BCSL
    • BCSL Team
    • BCSL Advisory Board
    • BCSL Scholars
    • Testimonials
    • News
  • Events
    • Where in the world is the BCSL?
    • Culture of Joy
      • Details
    • Just Leadership
      • Detailed Schedule
      • Hotel Recommendations
      • Just Leadership News
    • Catalyze
      • Improvement Communities
      • Things to Do in Waco
    • FIT Sports Leadership Summit
      • FIT Hotels
      • Detailed Schedule
  • Research
    • BCSL Research Award
      • 2024-2025 Awards Announced
    • Thriving Learning Communities
    • IDEA-SPORT
      • News Story
      • Frontiers Journal Article
      • Keston Fall 2024 Lecture
    • CARDUS
      • Findings from the 2023 Cardus Education Survey
    • Research Graduate Assistant
  • BCSL Resources
    • BCSL Insights
    • Just Schools Podcast
    • Just Teaching
      • Just Teaching: Module 1
      • Just Teaching: Module 2
      • Just Teaching: Module 3
      • Just Teaching: Module 4
    • Expert Speaker Sessions
  • Graduate Programs
  • Networks
    • BCSL Fellows
  • Get Connected
  • Giving
    • The Copple Family
    • The Morehead Family
Baylor BU Baylor Center for School Leadership About BCSL BCSL Team
  • BCSL Team
  • BCSL Advisory Board
  • BCSL Scholars
  • Testimonials
  • News

BCSL Team

Jon Eckert, EdD

Executive Director of the Baylor Center for School Leadership Professor of Educational Leadership Lynda and Robert Copple Endowed Chair in Christian School Leadership

Jon Eckert, EdD

Executive Director of the Baylor Center for School Leadership Professor of Educational Leadership Lynda and Robert Copple Endowed Chair in Christian School Leadership

Jon Eckert, Ed.D. is professor of Educational Leadership and the Lynda and Robert Copple Endowed Chair for Christians in School Leadership. Dr. Eckert provides academic leadership for the Baylor Center for School Leadership, serving as executive director, and is the program director of Baylor’s MA in School Leadership in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership.

Dr. Eckert came to Baylor in 2019 with more than two decades of experience in education. He provides academic leadership for the Center and is program director for Baylor’s MA in School Leadership. He began his career as a teacher and coach of intermediate and middle school students outside of Chicago and Nashville for 12 years. After completing his doctorate at Vanderbilt University in 2008, he was selected as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education, where he worked in both the Bush and Obama administrations on teaching quality issues. For ten years, he prepared teachers at Wheaton College.

Jon_Eckert@baylor.edu
Bill Sterrett, Ph.D.

Professor and Department Chair of Educational Leadership Fred & Edith Hale Endowed Chair for School Leadership

Bill Sterrett, Ph.D.

Professor and Department Chair of Educational Leadership Fred & Edith Hale Endowed Chair for School Leadership

Dr. Bill Sterrett serves as Department Chair and Professor of Educational Leadership at Baylor University, where he holds the Fred & Edith Hale Endowed Chair for School Leadership. He received the Milken National Educator award as a Title I school principal in Charlottesville (VA), and has since helped present the award to educators in Virginia, North Carolina, and in schools throughout Texas.

As an affiliated faculty member in the BCSL, Sterrett works to support school leaders through professional development and collaborative grant work. He led the U.S. State Department-sponsored IDEA-SPORT grant to support women's leadership through sports through on-the-ground sports and leadership workshops in Pakistan and through virtual professional learning communities. Sterrett also supports efforts such as the Thriving Learning Communities grant work in Mississippi and the BCSL Research Award initiative.

William_Sterrett@baylor.edu
Erik Ellefsen

Director of Networks and Improvement

Erik Ellefsen

Director of Networks and Improvement

School of Education

Mr. Ellefsen manages the BCSL’s Christian Leadership Transformation Project, a program designed to equip Christian educators across the country by gathering networks of school teams around problems of practice to catalyze school improvement and student flourishing.

Ellefsen has served in education for more than two decades as a teacher, coach, consultant, Dean of Academics at Boston Trinity Academy, Principal at Chicago Christian High School, and Grievance Chairman for the American Federation of Teachers. Most recently, he served at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, CA. He currently serves as Senior Fellow for both the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education and Cardus. He also hosts the Digical Education, a podcast providing engaging conversations with some of the most innovative education leaders, and a leading collaborator and author of the Mindshift project.

Ellefsen is a graduate of Wheaton College, with a BA in Social Science and Illinois teacher accreditation, an MEd in Administration and Leadership from Benedictine University with Illinois administrative credential, and attended Boston University to further his studies in Educational Policy and Organizational Leadership.

Erik_Ellefsen@baylor.edu
Sahira Kodra

Program Manager

Sahira Kodra

Program Manager

School of Education

Sahira Kodra serves as the Program Manager for the School of Education’s Baylor Center for School Leadership (BCSL). Ms. Kodra works closely with the BCSL team to support the department’s mission. Through her role she engages in the thriving community of Christian leadership in schools and districts. She provides administrative coordination within the Center through related event planning, program support, meetings, and budgets.

She joined Baylor University in the summer of 2023 from a position in Leander Independent School District, where she previously worked as a classroom teacher. 

Ms. Kodra received her BSEd in Elementary Education with a Gifted and Talented Concentration from Baylor University in the spring of 2020. As an undergrad she worked as a School of Education student worker and is blessed to be back at Baylor as a staff member.

Sahira_Kodra@baylor.edu
(254) 710-3109
Marilyn Rhames, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Marilyn Rhames, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Baylor Center for School Leadership

Serves as the project manager of a collaborative research study to improve student mental health and drug use prevention in middle and high schools. Substance abuse and misuse is a growing challenge among adolescents, and the project's aim is to support thriving school communities by having education researchers and school practitioners working together to develop contextualized interventions, curriculum, and measurable outcomes for students. Through a grant with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Baylor Center for School Leadership is leading this three-year project in partnership with the William Magee Institute at the University of Mississippi, the National Center for School-University Partnerships, and more than 30 educators from at least six school districts in the state of Mississippi.

Marilyn_Rhames@baylor.edu

Baylor Center for School Leadership

School of Education

Marrs McLean Science Building
1214 S. Fourth Waco, TX 76706
Office: 134.02

One Bear Place #97215
Waco, TX 76798-72

bcsl@baylor.edu
(254) 710-3109
Department of Educational Leadership
MA in School Leadership
School of Education
Baylor BU Baylor Center for School Leadership About BCSL BCSL Team
  • About BCSL
    Back
    • BCSL Team
    • BCSL Advisory Board
    • BCSL Scholars
    • Testimonials
    • News
  • Events
    Back
    • Where in the world is the BCSL?
    • Culture of Joy
      Back
      • Details
    • Just Leadership
      Back
      • Detailed Schedule
      • Hotel Recommendations
      • Just Leadership News
    • Catalyze
      Back
      • Improvement Communities
      • Things to Do in Waco
    • FIT Sports Leadership Summit
      Back
      • FIT Hotels
      • Detailed Schedule
  • Research
    Back
    • BCSL Research Award
      Back
      • 2024-2025 Awards Announced
    • Thriving Learning Communities
    • IDEA-SPORT
      Back
      • News Story
      • Frontiers Journal Article
      • Keston Fall 2024 Lecture
    • CARDUS
      Back
      • Findings from the 2023 Cardus Education Survey
    • Research Graduate Assistant
  • BCSL Resources
    Back
    • BCSL Insights
    • Just Schools Podcast
    • Just Teaching
      Back
      • Just Teaching: Module 1
      • Just Teaching: Module 2
      • Just Teaching: Module 3
      • Just Teaching: Module 4
    • Expert Speaker Sessions
  • Graduate Programs
  • Networks
    Back
    • BCSL Fellows
  • Get Connected
  • Giving
    Back
    • The Copple Family
    • The Morehead Family
  • General Information
  • Academics & Research
  • Administration
  • Admissions
  • Gateways for ...
  • About Baylor
  • Athletics
  • Ask Baylor
  • Bookstore
  • Calendar
  • Campus Map
  • Directory
  • Give to Baylor
  • News
  • Search
  • Social Media
  • Strategic Plan
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary
  • Graduate School
  • Hankamer School of Business
  • Honors College
  • Law School
  • Louise Herrington School of Nursing
  • Research at Baylor University
  • Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering & Computer Science
  • School of Music
  • University Libraries, Museums, and the Press
  • More Academics
  • Athletics
  • Compliance, Risk and Safety
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Office of General Counsel
  • Office of the President
  • Office of the Provost
  • Operations, Finance & Administration
  • Senior Administration
  • Student Life
  • University Advancement
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • goBAYLOR
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Baylor Law School Admissions
  • Social Work Graduate Programs
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary Admissions
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Virtual Tour
  • Visit Campus
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Parents
  • Prospective Faculty & Staff
  • Prospective Students
  • Students
  • Anonymous Reporting
  • Annual Fire Safety and Security Notice
  • Cost of Attendance
  • Digital Privacy
  • Legal Disclosures
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Notice of Non-Discrimination
  • Report It
  • Title IX
  • Web Accessibility
 
Baylor University
Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.
Baylor University • Waco, Texas 76798 • 1-800-229-5678