Postbaccalaureate Licensure in Leadership

This course introduces school leadership through the lens of equity, diversity, justice and belonging. The legal, ethical, social, and political landscape, including education reform related to PreK-22 and higher education in the U.S. will be the main focus of this course. Participants will explore education policy development, analysis, and change in schools and education organizations. The course will explore leadership frameworks and analytic methods to support course participants to design, implement, and evaluate policies at the school, community, and state level. The history of education reform in Massachusetts, as well as related federal, state and case law statutes, will be explored. Students will interrogate power structures within educational organizations, identify structural barriers, and consider how policy plays a role in both advancing and deterring educational progress.

This course focuses on preparing future leaders of schools to create inclusive cultures within schools. In this course, leaders will explore how to evaluate learning environments, with a specific focus on interrogating structural barriers within learning environments. Strategies for ensuring the environments are student-centered and inclusive of all students will be explored. Leaders will also explore how to ensure student assessment data is utilized to determine student learning, overall trends, and how to evaluate assessment data for bias and inequities. This course will also examine strategies for supporting and providing equity-focused feedback to staff.

This course will expose educational leaders to strategies for engaging with diverse stakeholders, including families, communities, and staff. Leaders will discuss how to build trusting and productive relationships with different groups of stakeholders, including how to break down structural barriers that may prevent or limit engagement from minoritized groups. Leaders will also explore methods to develop strategic relationships with the community, including organizations and businesses. Strategies for addressing concerns from diverse stakeholders in an equitable manner will be highlighted.

This course prepares school leaders to make decisions that are data-based, and equity focused. Utilizing multiple sources of evidence with inclusivity as a lens, leaders will analyze issues and challenges and highlight inequities, in order to make decisions that improve all students’ learning and experiences within schools. Data from the school, state, and federal level will be examined, with a focus on equity. Leaders will participate in inquiry-based practices to evaluate current practices within schools and will make changes utilize these data. The development of strategic and equity-orientated action plans and goals will be discussed, including how to measure the achievement of plans and goals and impact on student success.

This course will highlight financial principles and budget management in schools. Economic and demographic data will be analyzed, using a lens of inclusivity, to determine how and why financial decisions are made within schools. Leader candidates will review local, state, and federal education budgets and will evaluate equitable management of resources and ways to ensure budgets are informed by input by diverse stakeholders, including community members, families, and staff. Strategies for recruitment, hiring, and retention of diverse staff will be discussed, as well as HR policies and procedures that contribute to an anti-oppressive and inclusive culture.

Capstone experience integrating the coursework of the Equitable Leadership Masters’ Program into a clinical experience. Students spend a minimum of 300 hours in a supervisor/director role. They work with qualified practitioners in partner school districts to gain teaching experience while assuming gradual responsibility of supervisor/director role. A weekly seminar accompanies the clinical field experience.

Graduate clinical licensure additional practicum, based on previous experience/consultation with advisor. Candidates spend an additional semester in supervisor/director placement to gain experience while assuming gradual responsibility of the supervisor/director role.

*This course is only required for those that need the time to complete hours. No seminar component.