Public School Building Leadership SPA NY EdM

THE SUMMER PRINCIPALS ACADEMY

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

Certification Offered: Recommendation for NY State School Building Leadership (SBL) Certificate

Code: ELBL

Program Director: Dr. Brian K. Perkins

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

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 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 York (SPA|NYC) delivers courses for five weeks beginning in July and ending in August.

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

• ORLJ 5340: Basic Practicum in Conflict Resolution

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

• ORLA 6020: Pro-Seminar in School Leadership: Self-Awareness Training and Social Emotional Learning

Fall:

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

• ORLA 6020: Pro-Seminar in School Leadership: Social Emotional Learning

• ORLA 6460: Internship in School Leadership

Spring:

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

• ORLA 6020: Pro-Seminar in School Leadership: Cultural Diversity

• 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 6020: Pro-Seminar in School Leadership: Self-Awareness Training and Cultural Diversity

• ORLA 5199: New School Design II

ACCREDITATION

SPA|NYC 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 is registered with the New York State Education Department.

CERTIFICATION

SPA|NYC leads to an institutional recommendation for New York State School Building Leader (SBL) certification.  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.