Public School Building Leadership SPA NOLA EdM

THE SUMMER PRINCIPALS ACADEMY

Degrees Offered: M.A. & Ed.M.

Certification Offered: Recommendation for Educational Leader Certificate (ELC) in the State of Louisiana

Code: ELPS 

Program Director: Dr. Brian K. Perkins

Website: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/organization-and-leadership/spa-nola/

The Summer Principals Academy (SPA) at Teachers College, Columbia University is a transformative graduate program that is committed to promoting equity and excellence in education and overcoming the gap in educational access and achievement between the most and least advantaged groups in this country. To achieve this goal, our aspiring school leaders are encouraged to construct transforming possibilities for student learning, school improvement, social equity, and opportunity. While some principal preparation programs are content to prepare school leaders to perpetuate schools as they currently exist, SPA strives to prepare leaders to create the innovative schools that our nation and the world need. Through the Summer Principals Academy, leadership development is fostered through an integrated set of experiences that include sound theoretical and "best practice" knowledge, problem-based coursework, and field-based experiences, including an intensive and extended internship.

SPA is a cohort program enrolling graduate students from all over the country and abroad in a rigorous 14-month, 36-credit program. Courses are delivered Monday – Friday, from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, over two consecutive five-week summer sessions. The 450-hour Administrative Internship takes place during the intervening school year, thereby enabling students to complete the internship requirements while maintaining their jobs in their current schools. The schedule supports the reality of aspiring leaders who are currently working as teachers, team leaders, department chairs, or supervisors who do not wish to leave their schools to attend a full-time program.

Students’ studies in the Summer Principals Academy conclude with the New School Design Project. Serving as the capstone project, candidates integrate the knowledge and skills they have developed while preparing for leadership service in schools across the nation. The New School Design teams are challenged to develop a new school that reflects the domains of knowledge, skill, and habits of mind and that is relevant to the challenges faced by children seeking a 21st-century education in a public school setting. The event offers the larger educational community of leaders the opportunity to share their insights and expertise regarding how to close achievement gaps effectively through the design of innovative and high-performing schools.

The Summer Principals Academy (SPA) offers two cohort locations – New Orleans, LA, and New York City, NY – to educators who aspire to become school leaders. The two cohorts provide the same course content, instruction, assessment, and high-quality education experience, but each caters to a different school calendar.  SPA New Orleans (SPA|NOLA) delivers courses for five weeks beginning in June and ending in July.

Curriculum:

Summer I:

• ORLA 4001: Introduction to School Leadership and Decision Making

• ORLA 5018: School Leadership for Adult Development

• ORLA 5029: Supervision of Teaching & Learning

• ORLA 5199: Conflict Resolution for School Leadership

• ORLA 5532: Curriculum Development: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

• ORLA 6025: Leadership Through Self-Awareness

• ORLA 6029: Social Emotional Learning

Fall:

• ORLA 5532: Curriculum Development: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

• ORLA 6460: Internship in School Leadership

Spring:

• ORLA 5532: Curriculum Development: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

• ORLA 6027: Cultural Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice as Leadership Imperatives

• ORLA 6460: Internship in School Leadership II

• ORLA 5199: New School Design I

Summer II:

• ORLA 5017: Team Building and Organizational Development

• ORLA 4025: Resource Allocation for Student Achievement

• ORLA 5025: Ecology of Data-Driven Leadership

• ORLA 4033: Ethical and Legal Issues in Education Leadership

• ORLA 6026: Leadership Through Self-Awareness II

• ORLA 6028: Cultural Diversity II

• ORLA 5199: New School Design II

ACCREDITATION

SPA|NOLA is a fully accredited Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) principal preparation program that culminates in a Master's Degree in Public School Building Leadership and recommendation for Education Leader Certification in the State of Louisiana. Further, this program is currently an approved principal preparation program in the State of Louisiana as of October 17, 2018.

Teachers College, Columbia University is currently licensed by the Board of Regents of the State of Louisiana. Licenses are renewed by the State Board of Regents every two years.  Licensed institutions have met minimal operational standards set forth by the state, but licensure does not constitute accreditation, guarantees the transferability of credit, nor signify that programs are certifiable by any professional agency or organization.  

CERTIFICATION

Graduates of the Summer Principals Academy - New Orleans are recommended for Education Leader Certification (ELC) in the State of Louisiana. The SPA|NOLA program meets all requirements outlined in Bulletin 996, Standards of Approval for Teacher or Educational Leader Preparation Programs for the preparation of educational leaders. If you plan to work in a state other than Louisiana, prospective students are advised to determine if the program meets the educational requirements for certification in any other state, Washington, DC or Puerto Rico. If you intend to work in another state, we recommend that you review the state’s teacher certification website for that state’s qualifications. Depending on the graduate’s state’s certification qualifications, graduates are advised to receive their Louisiana ELC Letter of Eligibility when applying for certification out of state. The Letter of Eligibility assures prospective employing school systems that the educator meets the educational leadership certification requirements while also ensuring that the leadership certificate is not issued until the educator is in a position to receive evaluations per Louisiana’s statewide evaluation system.