Three Leadership Certificate Programs Available to Educators

The SUNY Plattsburgh Branch Campus at Queensbury is offering three new advanced certificates in education — a 12-credit Teacher Leadership Graduate Certificate, a 30-credit School Building Leader Certificate of Advanced Study and an 8-credit School District Leader Graduate Certificate.

All graduate-level certificate programs are designed to help current teachers and graduate students develop broader leadership skills that can lead to opportunities within schools and districts.

While the 12-credit Teacher Leadership Graduate Certificate does not lead to state certification, it does provide educators with the skills to take on leadership roles, allowing districts to distribute responsibilities to others beyond the building principal.

Teachers enrolled in this program will be able to become instructional leaders without having to leave the classroom. As such, they will be able to serve on curriculum-writing committees, work as mentors, conduct observations of faculty in the classroom and support principals in other instructional leadership tasks.

Meanwhile, the School Building Leader Certificate of Advanced Study is a 30-credit hour program that allows educators who have passed the state assessment to qualify for a state administrative certificate at the school-building level. These individuals could serve as building principals, assistant principals and in similar leadership positions.

Students with school-building level certification who take the additional eight credits through the School District Leader Graduate Certificate program will be eligible for a state administrative certificate at the school-district level and be able to serve as district or assistant superintendents and in similar positions.

For more information on the coursework, requirements and enrollment, contact CAS in Educational Leadership and Teacher Leadership coordinators, Dr. Michael Johnson or Dr. Harry Brooks at the SUNY Plattsburgh Branch Campus at Queensbury, 518-792-5425, Ext. 116.