Principals
For more information on IU1 staff development opportunities for principals or for questions regarding the programs featured here, contact:
Patricia K. Hazen
Outreach and Development Specialist
724-938-3241 ext. 235
hazenp@iu1.k12.pa.us
Principals' Certification Program
The IU1/Duquesne University Principals' Certification program is offered as a cohort-based program. A cohort began in September 2009 and will end in Summer 2011. The program is under the direction of Dr. Robert Furman. Upon completion of the program, candidates will receive a Master of Science Degree in Educational Administration.
Participants in the IU1/Duquesne program receive partial scholarships making the tuition rate approximately $640 per credit which is comparable with the tuition at the University of Pittsburgh. Financial aid is available through Duquesne University.
Candidates interested in the Certification program who already have a Master Degree or who have completed graduate work will be able to transfer credits. Each case needs to be reviewed individually.
For information about the IU1/Duquesne Principals' Certification program contact Patricia Hazen.
Principals' Academy
The IU1 Principals' Academy, under the direction of Mr. Joseph Werlinich and Dr. Otto Graf, provides a forum for school principals and assistant principals to engage in substantive discussions, practice problem solving, share best practices, examine individual leadership style, look at organization issues, and plan and implement change in their real world environment. Curriculum includes research-based materials as well as sharing of information from principals' real world situations. Over a two-year period, principals meet 18 days (nine per year) and complete out-of-class assignments. Principals will also develop individual leadership learning goals, create action plans, and maintain a journal. Following each in-class session, principals will apply the knowledge and skills acquired to their own situation. The primary focus of the academy is to improve leadership behaviors in order to develop standard-based systems where student achievement is maximized.
Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership (PIL)
- How PIL Affects Principals (8.3 MB)
IU1 PIL Courses for 2009–2010
Listed here are the IU1 PIL courses currently scheduled for the 2009–2010 year. These courses may be available again throughout the year. Be sure to check the PIL section on the Solutionwhere registration system.
| Course | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Leading for Effective Change Part I | August 6, 2009–October 6, 2009 | 30 |
| School Improvement: Generation 6 | August 6, 2009–October 6, 2009 | 30 |
| Principals’ Academy | September 2009–2011 | |
| Continuous School Improvement Data Tools | 30 | |
| Data Institute for Continuous School Improvement | October 5, 2009–November 19, 2009 | 30 |
| 40 | ||
| Preparing Schools for 21st Century Learners | 60 | |
| Using Professional Learning Communities to Improve Teaching and Learning | 40 |
Leading for Effective Change Part I
Change is complex and requires strategic and intentional leadership.
Key concepts:
- The existing school culture affects the outcome of change.
- Having a shared vision is critical to ensuring effective change.
- Strong leaders effectively model change behaviors.
- Change occurs through thoughtful planning and a sense of urgency.
Essential questions:
- How can we use knowledge of the change process to engage educators in a pragmatic approach to improve teaching and learning?
- In what ways can the knowledge of practical steps for the implementation of change help systems of education avoid failure?
Using Professional Learning Communities to Improve Teaching and Learning
Participants in this program will design and implement professional learning communities in their buildings/district. Those learning communities will be expected to:
- Review and analyze best practices for teaching and learning
- Review available school data to determine school needs
- Choose the most appropriate best practice for their school
- Implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen best practice
Participants will be expected to create an ongoing professional portfolio that demonstrates clear evidence of the completion of the following:
- Design and implement a Professional Learning Community
- Design a sharing protocol to increase the sharing and consistent use of best-differentiated instructional practices
- Create an intense focus for using best practices in classrooms
- Design professional development workshops to analyze and apply best practices for conducting ongoing formative and summative assessment
Increasing Rigor and Relevance Through Project Based Learning
A key to improving student achievement is to increase and accurately measure rigor. Effective instructional leaders need to:
- Have a clear understanding of how to increase rigor,
- Be capable of leading the implementation and assessment of strategies used, and
- Create learning opportunities for their staff to further their knowledge of raising and accurately assessing levels of rigor and other best instructional practices.
Key concepts:
- Know how to evaluate the level of rigor of instruction and learning activities
- Know techniques to increase the rigor of a lesson and learning activities
- Understand how Project Based Learning can be used to increase rigor
- Know how to implement Project Based Learning and assess its effect on raising rigor and thereby increasing student achievement
- Know how other school districts are using Project Based Learning to increase rigor and improve student achievement
- Know their own capacity and the capacity of other school districts to share Project Based Learning strategies and other best practices
Essential questions:
- What impact does raising the level of academic rigor make on increasing student achievement?
- How does Project Based Learning create a framework for differentiating and increasing the rigor of instruction?
- What role can school leaders play in monitoring the effective use of Project Based Learning strategies and other best practices for teaching and learning to increase rigor and improve student achievement?
- How do leaders effectively manage first and second order change in the organization?
- What opportunities can be created for collaborative staff development activities and sharing of best practices among districts?
Preparing Schools for 21st Century Learners
This course is for administrators and qualifies as a PA Inspired Leadership course/program. It will provide two credits and/or 60 hours. Participants must attend the required sessions and complete all assignments to receive credit/hours.
Participants in this course/program will attend a series of sessions that will provide background about 21st Century skills and careers for students, technology integration strategies and resources, components of a standards-based system and Chapter 4 regulations, and the curriculum, School Leader Development: Building 21st Century Schools.
Participants will attend 40 hours of instructional sessions and will complete 20 hours of embedded assignments. This course/program will last one year.
Participants will have some sessions that are required and some for which the participants may choose from complementary sessions. The technology integration sessions are the complementary sessions and will be available throughout the year. Participants must participate in two of the complementary sessions. All session attendance will be tracked electronically.
Participants will use the Learning Cycle template: Challenge, Your Initial Thoughts, Resources, Revised Thinking, and Group Work for in class discussions and reflections as well as continued reflection and inquiry out of class. Participants will develop a change process and product portfolio starting with the first session. The portfolio will include reflections, action plans, reading summaries, resources, and Learning Cycle responses from all of the sessions.
PDE PIL Courses
PIL courses are also available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education. For more information, visit the PA Inspired Leaders section of the Pennsylvania Department of Education website.
Please note that courses are offered on a regional bases. Schools located in IU1 are part of PIL Region 7.
Public Relations for Principals
- District/School Fact Sheet
- Planning an Event Guide
- Planning an Event Checklist
- Letter to the Local Media
- Writing Effective Press Releases
- Getting Your Press Release Read
- Sample Press Release #1
- Sample Press Release #2
Professional Organizations for Principals
Tools for Teacher Observation/Evaluation
The 90/90/90 Schools: A Case Study
Good to Great Summary
Walkthrough
An organized tour through the school using “Look Fors” to focus on elements of effective instruction and learning.
- Walkthrough Observations and Presentations
- Walkthrough Simulation
- Download a Zip File of the Above Files (155 MB)
