Staff Development >For Administrators >Leadership Devlopment

Leadership Development Program

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has taken a proactive approach in developing school leaders.  MCPS has adopted a structured and sequential Leadership Development Program (LDP) that culminates with the preparation of highly skillful leaders who possess the necessary attitude, knowledge, and skills to meet the ever changing demands of the principalship.  The program begins with a recruitment effort at the teacher level via a series of Future Administrators Workshops. These workshops qualify candidates to enter the assistant principal eligibility pool. It is also possible that some aspiring administrators begin the profession as an Assistant School Administrator (ASA), an eleven-month position that carries similar responsibilities to those of an assistant principal. Both roads lead to a more structured program, designed to ensure the administrator’s effectiveness and to reduce the variability in the training and development of school-based administrators. The LDP includes five levels of training and support: ASA, AP1, AP2, Principal Intern, and first-year Principal. At the conclusion of the AP2 year, the AP candidate is formally appointed as an assistant principal and may apply to continue in the program as a principal intern.

Developing Adaptive Leaders (recently published in The American School Board Journal)(PDF)

MCPS Leadership Development Program Overview (Microsoft Word)

AP Promotion Pool Requirements

MCPS is looking for motivated, dedicated, skillful, and creative people to become school-based administrators. Research shows that effective school administrators play a critical role in the success of schools and their students. Ideal candidates include teacher leaders who support student achievement in the classroom, provided professional development to other teachers, and/or developed curriculum and programs. Basic requirements for the AP pool include:

1. One year of experience in a school-based leadership position
2. Five years of succesful teaching experience
3. Completion of the Future Administrators Workshop (FAW) series during 2009, 2010 or 2011. Candidates must attend all sessions
4. Copy of most recent evaluation
5. Résumé
6. Letter of interest, including level (e.g., elementary, middle, or high), addressed to the Associate Superintendent, Office of Human Resources and Development
7. Three references
8. Verification of A&S Administrator I certificate
9. Certificate showing completion of Observing and Analyzing Teaching I (OAT 1), along with the score received. Registration is on Professional Development Online (PDO) for courses beginning in the fall. Candidates who have already completed OAT 1 prior to January 1, 2009 should contact Dr. Catherine Allie (301-601-4800) for information about becoming recertified in OAT 1

• Recertification Process
  OAT recertification sessions will be posted on PDO. The session will require you to observe a class with an OAT instructor and submit a full post-observation conference report of the observation.
       The OAT recertification sessions are purposefully scheduled to allow time for writing, submitting, receiving feedback and revising the reports prior to the due date for the AP pool application.
• The FAW workshop series is offered every fall of each school year.

• Attendance at the four-session FAW series is a requirement for entering the Assistant Principal (AP) Promotion Pool and is open to all school and central services staff interested in becoming school-based administrators. The workshop series provides an overview of what MCPS is looking for in its leaders, explains requirements for admission into the AP Promotion Pool, prepares candidates for the interview process, and describes the MCPS Leadership Development Program. Assistant School Administrators who can verify experience of at least one full year and who attended the required Assistant School Administrator seminars may receive a Future Administrators Workshop certificate.
• Application Process
  
  The Office of Human Resources and Development will accept applications for the AP Promotion Pool during the period of January 3 - April 30, 2012. To apply for the AP eligibility pool, candidates must look for the posting of the AP Pool Requisition on www.mcpscareers.org during the application window above. Applications will not be accepted after April 30, 2012. Applicants will receive an invitation to take the writing assessment at OHRD once all dcouments are submitted.
  
  For specific information regarding certification, e-mail Ms. Marie Bercaw. For answers to questions about the FAW series, contact Ms. Loretta Favret director of elementary leadership training, Mr. Moreno Carrasco director of secondary leadership training,or Ms. Nicole Quiroga by email or by calling 301-217-5117. For information about OAT classes, please contact Dr. Catherine Allie, director of the Skillful Teaching and Leading Team, via email or at 301--840-6742.

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