Program Design Principles
Overview | Working Assumptions | Design Principles | Timeline
- The Leadership for Learning Program offers an Ed.D. and Washington State superintendent certification.
- Students work as a cohort based community, with some opportunity to learn with other educator programs at the university.
- Courses are structured with working adults in mind; teaching occurs primarily in the summer and on weekends throughout the academic year (generally one weekend each month); intensive (3+ years to completion). Electives may be taught in regular course format.
- Curriculum is rigorous and interdisciplinary; focus is on developing leaders with strengths in both supervision of teaching, learning, assessment and visionary leadership of education organizations.
- Field-based internship is multidisciplinary; placements and experience include but also extend beyond public school districts (e.g., OSPI, ESD, non-profit agencies).
- CAPSTONE project and assignments are based on problems of practice (assessing needs, gathering and analyzing data, developing and implementing an action plan to address a problem of practice).
- Program is values-based with clear commitments to social justice and equity in the schools.
- Courses are taught by College of Education faculty as well as adjunct faculty practioners from the field.
- Student admission is competitive and requires evidence of innovative, values-based, and committed leadership, as well as a demonstrated capacity for systems-level leadership.
- Program operates on a self-sustaining budget (student tuition) and coursework is graduate level and credit bearing.