Educational Leadership Academy Launches

FLAGSTAFF – April 8, 2019

Starting this summer, 25 educational leaders and aspiring leaders in the Flagstaff area will participate in a 14-month cohort of professional development in executive leadership.

The effort is the result of a year-long collaboration between LAUNCH Flagstaff and the Center for the Future of Arizona to bring the Beat the Odds School Leadership Academy to Northern Arizona.

“The quality of educational leadership in a school impacts about 25% of student achievement,” says Paul Kulpinski, Partnership Director of LAUNCH Flagstaff.

“When we look at where the big-levers are to move the needle on our goals, quality educational leadership quickly rises to the top,” he adds.

The leadership academy is administered through the Center for the Future of Arizona in partnership with the National Institute for School Leadership.

The coursework consists of 12, two-day units delivering a nationally researched, evidence-based curriculum over 14-months.  Between the in-person sessions, online coursework, readings and job-embedded applications enhance the training.

“We are truly excited to build a Flagstaff cohort of leaders from across the educational continuum,” says Katy Cavanagh, Director of Educational Leadership for the Center for the Future of Arizona.

LAUNCH Flagstaff and CFA are finalizing the list of 25 participants from not only district schools, but also charter schools, preschool directors, and even post-secondary leaders.

“Strengthening the personal relationships among the professionals across the educational continuum in Flagstaff can help break-down existing silos that often prevent us from making meaningful progress toward the goals of LAUNCH,” says Kulpinski.

The incentive to enroll in the program is heightened by two factors:  participants are eligible to receive credits toward a graduate degree in education from Northern Arizona University; and the cost of tuition was reduced in half from scholarship funding from GEAR UP, a U.S. Department of Education grant administered by NAU.

The graduate course credit and grant funding is a result of the strength in partnership between NAU, CFA and LAUNCH Flagstaff and lengthy conversations to work out the details.  While the Flagstaff cohort will be the first to benefit from the arrangement, NAU credit will be available to any participant in Arizona who completes the BTO program.

The program will kick-off with an orientation session on May 6th.

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