The Post-Master's Principalship Preparation Program, a collaborative offering through Slippery Rock and Clarion universities, is designed around the standards of principalship certification of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). The PDE and ISLLC standards provide the framework for the themes of the program.
These themes include: Leadership and the Administrative Process; Curriculum Issues; School Management; Administrative Ethics and School Law; Special Education; Human Resource Management; and Community Relations. The program is designed to provide a strong clinic-theory link and to prepare candidates to become collaborative, instructional leaders for the new millennium.
Admission Requirements
For admission to the program, each candidate must:
- Provide evidence of completing a master's degree from an accredited institution with official transcripts showing a cumulative QPA of 3.0/4.0 scale.
- Submit two personal writings: 1) Leadership Philosophy; and 2) a personal Teaching/Learning Philosophy. Each philosophy must contain citations from the literature relevant to the philosophy discussed.
- Three years of satisfactory teaching experience (although other certificates are acceptable for principal certification in the state of Pennsylvania, admission to this program is limited only to those candidates who have a valid Pennsylvania teaching certificate).
- Names and phone numbers of two individuals to serve as references who are qualified to speak about the candidate's professional qualifications.
Throughout the Program:
- Successfully complete a minimum of 30 clock hours in field experience per theme. The field experience must reflect the practical application of the module being discussed.
- Successfully complete a minimum of 90 clock hours practicum per semester to include information obtained from his/her developmental assessment center activity.
- Work on his/her school improvement project. The project, based on an identified need of the school and with the approval of the university mentor and mentor administrator, is developed and implemented during the first semester of the program. The project is completed and evaluated during the second semester of the program.
- Begin to develop an administrative portfolio of the experiences in which he or she participates complete with a weekly summary of the field experiences and internship activities. The portfolio must be linked to the PDE standards and must include links the candidate finds between the theory of the classroom and the application in practice.
Completion of the Program
The candidate will complete the program when he or she has:
- Completed the school improvement project evaluation and presented the findings to his/her university mentor, mentor administrator, and peers.
- Completed his/her administrative portfolio and shared this document with his/her university mentor, mentor administrator, and peers.
- Taken and passed the School Leadership Series Test
- Completed a minimum of five years of full-time teaching service in Pennsylvania public schools to receive certification (although other certificates are acceptable for principal certification in the state of Pennsylvania, admission to this program is limited only to those candidates who have a valid Pennsylvania teaching certificate).
Summer Modules
Theme I:
Leadership and the Administrative Process
Theme II:
Module 1: School Facilities and Plant Operations
Module 2: School Finance
Fall Modules
Theme III:
Module 1: Foundations and School Reform and Alignment of School Curriculum
Module 2: Instructional Supervision
Theme IV:
Administrative Ethics and School Law
Theme V:
Module 1: Oral and Written Communications
Module 2: Developing Positive Relations With the Stakeholders Practicum
Spring Modules
Theme VI:
Module 1: Personnel Selection and Supervision
Module 2: Staff Development from Induction to Continuous Staff Development
Module 3: Mediating Conflict in Organizations
Theme VII:
Module 1: The Law and Special Education
Module 2: Special Education Program Administration Practicum
