Master’s in School Leadership and Management in PK-12 Education

Building Professional Capacity -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, technology, and commitments necessary to build the school’s professional capacity, engage staff in the development of a collaborative professional culture, and improve systems of staff supervision, evaluation, support, and professional learning. (NELP 7; PSEL 3, 6, 7)

• Develop the school’s professional capacity through engagement in recruiting, selecting, hiring, and retaining staff. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Engage staff in a collaborative professional culture designed to promote equity, cultural responsiveness, and the success and well-being of all stakeholders. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Demonstrate reflective practices specific to personal character development and professional performance. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Engage school staff in professional learning designed to promote character education, digital literacy, and student success through research into emerging educational trends. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Develop systems of supervision, support, and evaluation designed to delegate tasks and empower stakeholders to promote distributed leadership and school improvement. [MC2, MC4]

Exemplifying Ethical and Just Leadership -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to understand, demonstrate and advocate for ethical decisions, and cultivate and enact professional norms. (NELP 2, PSEL 2, 3, 6, 9)

• Promote professional dispositions, virtues, and norms that support the educational success and well-being of each student and adult. [MC1, MC3]
• Evaluate and defend decisions based on ethical and legal standards. [MC2, MC3, MC5]
• Promote the values of democracy, individual freedom and responsibility, that support the educational success and well-being of each student and adult. [MC3, MC4]
• Advocate for equity, social justice, community, and diversity that support the educational success and well-being of all stakeholders. [MC3, MC4]
• Describe ethical behavior in personal conduct and relationships and cultivate ethical behavior in others. [MC1, MC3, MC4, MC5]
• Reflect on professional practices to make ethical decisions and lead by example. [MC2, MC3, MC4]

Facilitating Collaborative Responses to Community Priorities -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to engage families, community, and school personnel to strengthen student learning, support school improvement, and advocate for the needs of their school and community. (NELP 5; PSEL 3, 8)

• Engage diverse families in strengthening student learning in and out of school. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Cultivate relationships with diverse community members, partners, and other constituencies for the benefit of school improvement and student development. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Foster positive working relationships within the educational community, including feeder and connecting schools and district administration, for enrollment management and curricular and instructional articulation to promote student development and success. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Communicate through oral, written, and digital means, including social media, within the larger organizational, community, and political contexts when advocating for the needs of the school and community. [MC1, MC2, MC4]

Influencing Critical Educational Contexts -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to improve management, communication, technology, school-level governance, and operation systems to develop and improve data-informed and equitable school resource plans and to apply laws, policies, and regulations. (NELP 6; PSEL 3, 4, 9, 10)

• Evaluate school-level governance to support student learning and promote mission and vision of the school. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Utilize management, communication, technology, and operational systems that support each student’s safety and learning needs. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Advocate for critical discussions about data-informed and equitable resourcing plans, including technology, that support school improvement and student development. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Evaluate and communicate how laws, rights, policies, and regulations are implemented to promote student and adult success and well-being. [MC1, MC2, MC4]
• Identify strategies to manage uncertainty, risk, competing initiatives, and politics of change to provide support, encouragement, and open communication with all stakeholders for continuous school improvement. [MC1, MC2, MC4]

Managing an Effective Learning Environment -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to develop and maintain a supportive, equitable, culturally responsive, and inclusive school culture. (NELP 3; PSEL 3, 5, 7, 9)

• Cultivate and advocate for a supportive and inclusive school culture based on data and school needs. [MC3, MC4]
• Advocate for equitable access to educational resources, technologies, and opportunities that support the educational success and well-being of each student. [MC3, MC4]
• Advocate for equitable and inclusive behavior support practices among teachers and staff. [MC3, MC4]
• Advocate for culturally responsive behavior support practices among teachers and staff. [MC3, MC4]
• Develop opportunities to foster positive, supportive relationships among all stakeholders, including leaders, teachers, students, and families. [MC4]

Stewarding a Shared Vision -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to collaboratively lead, design, and implement a school mission, vision, and process for continuous improvement that reflects a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, innovation, equity, diversity, digital citizenship, and community. (NELP 1; PSEL 1, 9, 10)

• Advocate for a shared school mission and vision designed to reflect a core set of values and priorities that include equity, diversity, community, and character education. [MC3, MC4]
• Promote a school mission and vision designed to reflect a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, and digital citizenship. [MC3, MC4]
• Lead improvement processes that include data use, design, implementation, and evaluation that promote the mission and vision of the school. [MC3, MC4]
• Anticipate and assess emerging trends and initiatives, including technology, to adapt school-based leadership strategies that align with the mission and vision and promote school improvement. [MC2, MC4]

Sustaining a Culture of Learning and Growth -
School leaders promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, technology, and commitments necessary to evaluate, develop, and implement coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, data systems, supports, and assessment. (NELP 4; PSEL 3, 4, 5, 9)

• Select high-quality, technology-rich curricula programs and other supports for academic and non-academic student programs. [MC2, MC4]
• Evaluate high-quality instructional practices and services that support character education, equity, and the learning environment. [MC2, MC4]
• Select high-quality instructional resources and technologies that support equity, virtual literacy, digital literacy, and student learning. [MC2, MC4]
• Evaluate formal and informal culturally responsive and accessible assessments that support data-informed instructional improvement and student learning. [MC2, MC4]
• Evaluate the school’s curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices in a coherent, equitable, and systematic manner. [MC2, MC4]
• Advocate for the school’s technology and data systems in a coherent, equitable, and systematic manner. [MC1, MC2, MC4]