Delivery
Instruction in the program will be provided by university faculty and current educational leaders through an integration of theory and practice and a co-teaching model. Participants will have opportunities to learn from leading researchers and scholars in their fields. Practitioners who have achieved positive results in their schools will facilitate participants’ immediate application of knowledge through case studies, problem solving, and other interactive learning strategies. The program’s coaching component will be provided through coordination with the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL).
Content
Content for the program will be developed around the six Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards: vision, instructional leadership, management, collaboration, ethics, and politics. An advisory group, made up of superintendents, central office personnel, and school principals, has been formed to provide ongoing guidance for the development and delivery of the program. The group provided suggestions for program content based on their observed needs of early career principals.
Structure
The program structure for the inaugural cohort of the program is as follows:
- Participants must in their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year as a principal of a school.
- A maximum of 30 participants in each cohort
- Matching of participants with a seasoned administrator, acting as a coach, who has experience in school settings similar to the participant’s
- Two-year program with a three-day beginning/introductory session (Thursday afternoon, full day Friday, Saturday morning); most sessions will be a Friday/Saturday combination
- Incorporating the use of digital platforms for some content delivery and to facilitate communication
- Selected sessions will be held in conjunction with professional GAEL and/or affiliate conferences
- Most sessions will be held in Athens on the UGA campus. Some sessions will be held at locations of professional GAEL and/or affiliate conferences
- Professional Learning Units (PLUs) will be offered
- Program evaluation to measure the outcomes of leadership development