Center for New School Leaders at AWSA

About

School leadership is essential to high performing schools. It is the mission of the Center for New School Leaders @ AWSA to provide the support necessary for early career principals and associate principals to succeed. The CNSL does this by providing:

1. A framework for ensuring a successful school year
2. Examples of best practices that address the major responsibilities of school leaders
3. Opportunities to work with a trained mentor
4. Comprehensive support for new administrators’ licensure needs (online professional development plans, professional development team assistance, ongoing training and orientation, mentoring, and more) 

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Workshops: New Building Administrators Conference Series

The Center for New School Leaders @ AWSA works closely with the Wisconsin New Teacher Project (an affiliate of the New Teacher Center at the University of California-Santa Cruz). Participants of the New Building Administrators Conference Series are encouraged to attend the two-day Improving Student Achievement through Teacher Observation and Feedback training co-sponsored by AWSA and the Wisconsin New Teacher Project at a significant discount. The program teaches participants to observe teaching and learning through the lens of standards and student achievement, while offering administrators strategies and tools for coaching teachers in ways that bring results.

This four-session orientation and professional development series for first-year associate principals and principals provides a framework for ensuring a successful school year and opportunities for ongoing support and networking. The conference series is designed and delivered by a four-person faculty of outstanding practicing school and district leaders. Topics include:

• Presentation by nationally recognized education expert
• Leadership practices that pay off in the real world
• Getting acquainted: the people, the place, the culture
• Effective communications: the key to successful relationships
• Prioritization for principals
• Data-driven school improvement
• Designing effective staff development
• Key staff issues: contracts, grievances, hiring, etc.
• Top 10 ways to stay on the right side of the law
• Dealing with difficult people

Session I:  Getting Off to a Strong Start -- August 5, 2009

Handouts

• Getting Acquainted
• Effective Communication
• Priorities
• PI 34 Information
• Leadership Practices that Pay Off in the Real World

Session II:  Building Momentum -- October 28, 2009

Session III:  Staying on Top of the Wave -- December 3, 2009

Session IV:  A Strong Finish -- April 29, 2010

Mentoring

Much is known about the value of principal leadership as it relates to the success of teachers and students. Effective leaders create school communities where both students and adults are learning. There is an unquestionable connection between principals’ ability to lead learning and the support they themselves receive in their everyday work. Mentoring supplies this necessary support as effective job-embedded professional development.

AWSA instituted a Mentoring Project in 2005, in conjunction with the New Building Administrators Conference Series. Recognizing the importance of the relationship between mentor and protégé, AWSA’s mentoring program consists of two mentor options:

1. AWSA-assigned mentor
   AWSA assigned mentors are available for an additional $200. The number of mentors available is limited. These slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
    
2. District or CESA-assigned mentor
   District or CESA-assigned mentors may access training and participate in the New Building Administrators Conference Series with their protégés. The training will be conducted concurrently with the New Building Administrators Conference Series session on August 4-5, and will allow for interaction among the mentors and protégés. The cost of mentor training and materials is $30.

All mentors are trained by AWSA and receive guidelines for forming a successful mentor/protégé relationship, suggestions for structuring the relationship and key factors to include in the development of the protégé. Competent mentors do this through modeling, coaching, questioning and probing to promote self-reflection and problem solving skills, and providing feedback and counsel.

If you are interested in participating in the AWSA Mentoring Program as a protégé, simply contact Kelly Meyers at AWSA at 608-241-0300 or kellymeyers@awsa.org.

Click HERE to learn about becoming a MENTOR.

PI 34 Support

AWSA will provide licensure support to individuals as they navigate the requirements of PI 34. This support includes online tools for developing professional development plans and assistance establishing initial professional development teams.

Online Professional Development Plan/Portfolio

As one of the founding partners of Quality Educator Interactive (QEI), AWSA members who fall under the new licensing provisions prescribed in PI 34 can create, maintain, and share their Professional Development Plan (PDP) online. AWSA members may access the QEI for no additional cost. Start your account today by clicking HERE.

Professional Development Team (PDT) Support

AWSA will assist initial administrators in finding higher education and administrator representatives to serve on their professional development team (PDT). These are individuals who have volunteered to serve on teams at no cost to AWSA members. If you would like assistance assembling your team, simply contact Kelly Meyers, Associate Executive Director at kellymeyers@awsa.org or call (608) 241-0300.

Complimentary AWSA Membership

A complimentary 6 month membership is available to all building leaders who are in their first administrative position. Click HERE for this option. In addition Initial AWSA Membership is available which entitles first time administrators to 18 full months of member benefits at the cost of one year of membership.