A Unique Collaboration
Hosted at Teachers College Columbia University, NYC DOE Community School District 16 in Bedford-Stuyvesant and the Urban Education Leaders Collaborative (UELC) are collaborating on a unique year of professional learning for principals in the district.
The pilot seeks to create a yearlong intensive principal cohort professional learning program in support of:
- Developing urban education leadership capacity across District 16 and
- Creating a cohort model of comprehensive and deep professional learning programming for sitting building leaders.
Beginning with an intensive summer 3-day conference and followed by monthly sessions at Teachers College throughout the year, leaders engage in school leadership sessions on topics ranging from collaborative decision-making, change management, strategic thinking, school climate, teacher supervision and adult learning, intercultural competencies, and instructional leadership.
Principals learn, network, and engage in UELC’s innovative multimedia case study experience. Combined with intensive leadership self-assessment work, leaders are able to work effectively in collaborative decision-making teams in the ELDEx simulation platform, managing leadership crises and developing strategic leadership practices. Principals benefit from an engaging and collaborative experience that allows for personal and group reflection
Through the D16 Leadership Collaborative Pilot, principals gain practical, tangible leadership development skills to prepare them to lead in the complex urban education environment while they practice crisis management and strategic planning tasks in a low-stakes setting, supported by their district leadership team and guided by experts at Teachers College. Teachers College faculty and UELC partners bring their expertise to each session, providing principals in District 16 with specific tools and strategies to use in their schools. Planned in collaboration with the District 16 Superintendent’s team, on-site supervision and follow up opportunities embedded across all sessions. Principals finish the program with a leadership portfolio documenting their learnings and the impacts of their school leadership work throughout the year.
