New Leaders

Target demographics: Students in poverty and students of color

Geographic areas served: New York City, Newark, Baltimore, Prince George's County, Washington DC, Chicago, Memphis, Charlotte, San Francisco Bay Area, New Orleans, Jefferson Parish

Programs: Residency program (aspiring principals program)the core of the new leaders' aspiring principals program is a year-long, full-time, paid residency in an urban public school where the program participant works alongside a mentor principal. Simultaneously, program participants receive ongoing training from new leaders through a summer institute and regular seminars and training sessions throughout the school year. Program participants undergo an intensive recruitment and admissions process in order to be accepted or are reviewed for admission as part of their participation in new leaders' emerging leaders program. The ultimate goal of the residency is to prepare program participants to become highly-effective school leaders in urban public schools that promote high expectations for and deliver high levels of student achievement and that equip every student with the academic and personal skills needed to graduate from high school ready for success in college, careers, and citizenship. Through this program, in the 2013-14 school year, new leaders delivered rigorous curriculum, training, and support experiences to 96 program participants in 9 program sites serving approximately 21,250 students.

emerging leaders programthe emerging leaders program is a school leadership professional development program for educators on the way to principal training. The emerging leaders program strengthens the leadership skills of talented teachers, coaches, and assistant principals working in urban public schools, putting participants on the pathway to the principalship while building leaders' capacity across a system. In the 2013-14 school year, the emerging leaders program began with over 410 educators serving approximately 41,000 students. The emerging leaders program also serves as an admission pathway to new leaders' aspiring principals program. 63 members of the third cohort of emerging leaders matriculated into the aspiring principals program for the following year.

the leadership practive improvement (lpi) programthe leadership practice improvement (lpi) program is a professional development program that transforms schools by training principals and their school teams together, in the school building, so that the entire school community is working together to support student success. This approach embeds lessons into the daily life of the school and enables participants to get to impact quickly, through collaboration and by motivating one another to put what they're learning into practice and make real-time adjustments to advance team goals. All content builds skills in four core leadership domains proven to drive learning gains. Expert advisors provide ongoing guidance and meaningful feedback to improve participants' practice. Our sophisticated blended learning platform pairs self-paced study with targeted coaching. Over the course of a year, lpi guides instructional leadership teams to build critical skills to: (1) set a team purpose, develop school-wide goals, and create an action plan to achieve the goals. (2) monitor action plans, use data to track progress to goals, and adjust plans in response to data. (3) coach teachers to improve instruction based on an analysis of observation, and both classroom- level and student-level data. (4) demonstrate the practices of a high-performing team to build sustainable change. To improve in these skills, team members and principals practice particular leadership actions in the four leadership domains of building efficacy; goal setting, analysis, action planning; implementing plans and building an effective leadership team. Each school works with a new leaders advisor to guide them through the program, provide feedback on job-embedded assignments, and scores against a leadership map which measures their proficiency in each of the leadership domains.

school support program (aspiring principals program/principal institute)for program participants who complete the aspiring principals program and accept leadership positions in urban public schools, new leaders provides support through its principal institute, a professional learning community. In the year ending june 30, 2014, principal institute included 53 principals serving approximately 26,500 students. The principal institute includes guidance in developing an entry plan for the new school leader and provides substantial professional development and support in the crucial early years on the job. Through new leaders' city program offices, new leaders principals and assistant principals had access to ongoing professional development workshops, consultations with expert staff, opportunities to participate in small-group learning and leadership development experiences, and invitations to networking and social events. They also had access to high-quality, nationally-provided resources including the urban excellence framework ("uef") field guide; uef-aligned tools, artifacts, and resources; school-wide diagnostic tools and action planning frameworks; online access to key curriculum and course materials; the epic knowledge system; and invitations to periodic national professional development events. Resident selection program: the national recruitment and selection program for the new leaders aspiring principals program led to the acceptance of 22 new residents for the following school year based on rigorous selection criteria. New leaders aggressively recruited candidates who had k-12 instructional expertise, exceptional adult leadership and management skills, and an unyielding belief that all students can and will achieve at high levels. 479 people applied to the aspiring principals program through this national process. Policy and practice services: new leaders also offers the following services: (1) leadership development services, which are high-quality leadership development for sitting school leaders in school districts and charter management organizations (cmos); (2) policy and practice services, which are consulting services regarding leadership policy and practice development for school districts, cmos, and state departments of education that provide the management and support that principals need to improve school performance; and (3) principal supervisor support, which includes training on principal evaluation, principal supervisor role definition, communities of practice and 1:1 coaching to help principal supervisors manage and support principals to improve school and student performance.