700

This course analyzes theories on collaborative curriculum development at the district level and focuses on assessing curriculum for vertical articulation and alignment with a district's vision based on community input and goals provided by the school board. Students document the process for creating curriculum that meets the needs of all students. The course reviews and explains the Superintendent's role in working with the school board to create policy on curriculum development, best instructional processes, and implementing best practices and processes, while documenting needed resources.

This course explores multiple theories on curriculum development at the district level and focuses on assessing curriculum for vertical articulation and alignment with a district's vision based on community input and goals provided by the community and faculty. Students document the elements of a well-aligned and rigorous curriculum that can meet the needs of all students in, and implementing state mandated topics, while documenting needed resources.

This course examines the superintendent's role in collaborating with various stakeholders in designing, supervising, and revising a school wide measurement system that validates student progress towards district goals and performance expectations and their place in staff evaluation. The characteristics and requirements for valid and reliable standardized assessments will be studied and documented as will the process of writing high-level assessments. Prerequisite: EDL-702

The course reviews the methods used by leaders to be culturally responsive in all settings. The course will cover other areas of diversity for Urban, Suburban, and Rural settings. The prospective leader will use an evaluation tool called the school district Taxonomy of Cultural Responsiveness evaluation. Future district leaders will build recognition of how to develop the board's understanding of what diversity looks like in the candidate's district. Future leaders will create a plan to assess the needs of their school district community and use this data to develop a plan for healthy school and community relations.

This course is designed to prepare district leaders to address the human resources and labor contract law that school corporations must follow. The prospective district leader will be exposed to multiple areas with an emphasis on legal pitfalls related to benefits administration, unemployment, and insurance risk management. The legal labor contract negotiations process and its very detailed timelines are also studied.

This course is intended to help students grow as scholars through the planning, writing, and revising of written documents. Students will review standard English writing conventions and synthesize academic sources within the contexts of their specific areas of interest. A focus will be placed on writing and preparing manuscripts according to APA formatting guidelines.

This course will include an examination of strategic planning for the basic requirements and development of school facilities, and the inclusion of stakeholders from the greater school community when making decisions about facilities' needs. Candidates will investigate shared processes and procedures from facility needs and assessments through actual renovation and new construction. Renovation strategic planning processes, ADA requirements, and energy savings, along with preventative maintenance planning will also be included. The class requires a major assessment where candidates assess district facilities and processes for cost savings analysis.

In this course, students will examine contemporary theories, models, concepts, and practices of leadership within an educational organization. Students will study how to effectively apply these concepts to educational settings. Students will examine the influence of leadership on organization culture and consider how data can inform leadership decisions. Prerequisite: EDL-707

This course is designed to prepare aspiring district level administrators with integral knowledge of budgets, revenue projections, budget calendars, and skills for district and building level budgets and accounting. Candidates will utilize practical real world understanding of current school budgets based on the use of required state budget forms for local property taxes. The course includes major projects that simulate actual school corporation capital project planning. The course requires students to complete budget cut simulations planning for times when overall revenue does not support expenditures.

The course reviews the strategies used by leaders to be culturally responsive in educational settings. The course will examine strategies for successfully working in areas of diversity for urban, suburban, and rural settings. The student will be exposed to and apply theory in various areas to ensure they are prepared for a leadership position in a variety of educational settings. Prerequisite: EDL-707

This course examines the source of all education policy and frameworks to address emerging local, state, and national issues and trends in district administration and supervision that have the potential to significantly influence the future direction of education in the candidate's state. It describes how the educational leader can influence the larger political, social, and economic issues and trends. The candidates build necessary leadership competencies to create stakeholder coalitions to respond to current issues. Concepts studied include running a referendum and building a coalition group to support the advocacy of school district's vision and mission.

This course examines multiple ethical frameworks, principles, and theories as they apply to the study and practice of leadership. Students will examine ethical decision-making, effective leadership, perspectives of moral reasoning, and their application to various personal, business, and civic responsibilities. Prerequisite: EDL-707

This course is designed to develop understandings and skills associated with creating an ethical school culture that is responsive to improvement needs. Students will research, discuss, and plan for the use of theories of organizational change and explore various strategies to bring these theories into practice by developing a collaborative vision that involves the success for all students based on collaborative input from diverse stakeholders. Students will create action plans that use community and stakeholder resources to assist in the implementation of the vision. Students will create a process for communicating the plan and suggest how to use technology to monitor systems to help manage the proposed improvement and change.

This course is designed to develop understandings and skills associated with creating a culture that is responsive to change. Students will learn practical contexts and approaches of change management that leaders can use to build innovative organizations. Students will research, discuss, and plan for the use of theories of organizational change and explore various strategies to bring these theories into practice. Prerequisite: EDL-707

This course prepares students for a doctoral degree in educational leadership. Students learn about the strengths and limitations of various research strategies. Candidates study the methods others have used to generate valid research on topics of interest. The process includes the study of the concepts such as problem definition, evaluation of appropriate methodologies, research design, reliability, and ethical considerations. The course research project will present the family of proposed solutions based on an in-depth literature review of the topic.

The purpose of this course is to develop interpersonal skills by analyzing group or team behavior and leadership effectiveness. The course equips students to lead with self-awareness, awareness of others, effective interpersonal communication, and to build a culture of trust relationships as a basis for effective leadership. Topics will include: Team formation and development, building, leading, organizing, and motivating teams, collaboration among cross-functional teams, and interpersonal relationship dynamics in small groups. Prerequisite: EDL-707

The six month-long internship involves supervised learning practices based on the application of the NELP standards and skills supervised by a sitting school superintendent in a school setting. Seven large projects are implemented throughout the course. Candidates must collect data, train staff, create policy recommendations, and solve real world problems aligned with program standards and assigned by the school-based mentor to exhibit the required district level leadership skills. Candidates and superintendent mentors will be expected to participate in scheduled video conferences with the course instructor during clinical experiences to evaluate progress and completion. Prerequisite: EDL-716

This course focuses on the critical skills associated with handling difficult people and situations. Students will gain skills in managing interpreting conflict and identifying options that result in a favorable outcome for all stakeholders. Theory, self-reflection and enhancement of conflict management skills, cultural understanding, structure, and practice of collaborative and mediated negotiations are emphasized. Prerequisite: EDL-707

This course examines the current and emerging leadership issues and trends faced by educational organizations. Students will learn through engaging environmental scanning, discussion, and reviewing of literature (scholarly and other mediums) related to their area of interest. Prerequisite: EDL-707

This capstone course provides students the opportunity to apply skills related to their professional interests and goals in the Education field. Students will work with the instructor to develop a project appropriate to their goals. Projects can include working with an organization to develop a strategic plan, developing research projects or interning with an organization. Field partnership required. Prerequisite: EDL-716