The Reach Instructional Leadership Academy leads to a preliminary Administrative Services Credential and Master’s of Education (M.Ed.) in Instructional Leadership will be a radical reinvention of graduate school preparation for teachers. With the support of the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund, Reach launched this innovative program with a small cohorts of founding participating teacher leaders who will co-create the program while learning. The program is designed to:

1. •Support teacher leaders to develop the habits of mind, heart and hand necessary to be a powerful teacher leader, while they develop knowledge and skills in the areas of authentic leadership, teacher learning, coaching, facilitating professional collaboration, curriculum & instruction, and conducting action research (see seminar sequence below)
   

2. •Reinvent graduate level preparation based on Reach’s innovative and job-embedded methods
   

3. •Foster professional community in Reach partner schools, which simultaneously improves student achievement, increases instructional quality throughout schools, creates a more supportive learning environment for new teachers, and increases teacher retention
   

Too often, experienced teachers’ skills and experience are not fully developed or utilized in their schools. A significant body of research indicates that teacher leaders can serve a variety of critical roles including curriculum experts, resource provider, mentor, classroom supporter, data coach and many others. At the same time, graduate level preparation is frequently seen as overly theoretical and disconnected from real-world problems and situations.

By contrast, the Reach Instructional Leadership program will support teacher leaders to become high-quality mentor teachers, new teacher educators, team facilitators, and models of classroom leadership and collegiality. Reach ASC/M.Ed. graduates will combine current educational research with practical, job-embedded application to increase and sustain school cultures of high achievement in Reach partner schools.

The project is based on a year of demonstration programs and has already generated excitement in many Reach partner schools. Reach will seek eligibility for  of the M. Ed.  from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in 2010 and expects to earn accreditation in 2013. Reach expects the Administrative Services Credential to be fully accredited in 2010

Seminar sequence:

All sequences are a combination of regular after school meetings, online collaboration, applied fieldwork, reading, and written reflections.

Year 1 (Leads to a preliminary Administrative Services Credential - ASC)

Fall:

410 Instructional Leadership Residency ~ 8 units

420 Instructional Coaching ~ 2 units

430 How Teachers Learn ~ 2 units

Spring:

440 Coaching for Equity & Universal Access ~ 2 units

450 Instructional Program Coherence ~ 2 units

460 Fostering Communities of Practice ~ 2 units

480 Principles of School Leadership ~ 2 units

Year 2: (Leads to an M.Ed. & partial completion of the requirements for a clear ASC):

470 Action Research Methods & Project ~ 6 units

410b Instructional Leadership Residency ~ 8 units

Tuition:

Until the Reach Master’s of Education program receives regional accreditation, the program will be subsidized by grant funds and will cost the participating teacher and/or their school $2640 per year ($220 per month). Reach recommends that the tuition be split between the employing school or school district and the participating teacher leader. The total cost of the program is $10,500 per annum and breaks down as follows:

1. •Partner School: $1320 (recommended)
   

2. •Participating Teacher Tuition: $1320 (recommended)
   

3. •Reach Institute (grants & donations): $7860
   

Admission Requirements:

In order to be admitted to the Reach Teacher Leadership Academy M.Ed/ASC program, candidates must meet the following requirements (which are verified by the items on the application checklist below):

1. •Employment: Be employed by a Reach member agency school (if you are not employed by a Reach member agency school and you are interested in the Reach M.Ed/ASC program, contact program personnel to inquiry about establishing an Memorandum of Understanding between your school and Reach).
   

2. •Credential: Hold a California Clear Teaching Credential (if your clear credential is pending, you may be provisionally enrolled in the program. Degrees or credentials will not be conferred without a valid California Clear Teaching Credential)
   

3. •Academic Readiness: Demonstrate academic readiness by ONE of the following:
   

4. •Completion of a Teacher Credential program from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
   

5. •Completion of an undergraduate program (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science) from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum grade point average of 3.0.
   

6. •Arrange with Reach personnel to demonstrate academic capacity through a reading, writing, and discussion assessment.
   

7. •Prerequisites: Demonstrate prerequisites: The Reach Teacher Leadership Academy program is designed to articulate with the Reach Teacher Credential programs. Applicants must verify prerequisites by ONE of the following:
   

8. •Successfully earning a PRELIMINARY credential through the Reach Institute
   

9. •Successfully earning a CLEAR credential through the Reach Institute’s Teacher Induction Program
   

10. •Demonstrate equivalency the areas of Teaching for Social Justice & Equity, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Teaching for Universal Access and Inclusive Classrooms, and Educational Psychology – usually through credentialing coursework at a regionally accredited college or university.
    

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO COMMUNICATE YOUR INTEREST IN THE REACH M.ED. PROGRAM, PLEASE EMAIL JONNA JUSTINIANO, REACH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, AND INCLUDE YOUR NAME, SCHOOL, AND LEADERSHIP ROLE OR INTENTION.

Instructional Leadership Academy

  Important Dates for 2011-2012

The application deadline for the Instructional Leadership Academy was August 12, 2011.

We are no longer taking applications for the 2011-2012 Instructional Leadership Academy.