Master of Arts/Class "A" Certification
The Alabama State Board of Education authorized a new Program for the Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership, leading to initial certification in Alabama for Instructional Leadership, in accordance with Ala. Admin. Code §290-3-3-.48. This program will be reviewed by the Alabama State Department of Education Certification Office on 17-18 November 2007 for compliance with certification regulations. The Educational Leadership faculty at the University of Alabama anticipate a successful review, and will begin taking applications in January 2008, for admission to the next cohort, beginning Summer 2009.
ADMISSION PROCEDURES
Cohort Admission
Admission to this program is a competitive process, with candidates
(students) admitted in cohorts.
Minimum Requirements
Requirements for admission include:
An acceptable GRE or MAT score (see application policy);
Class B Professional Educator Certificate in a teaching field or Class
A Professional Educator Certificate in a teaching field or instructional
support area;
A minimum of three full years of full-time, satisfactory professional
educational experience in a P-12 setting, which must include P-12 teaching
experience;
The submission of a portfolio before an interview;
Provision for a writing sample in sit-down format; and
Passing an interview conducted by the program admission committee.
Due Date for Applications
Applications for admission will be due in the Department of Educational
Leadership, Policy & Technology Studies by March 31 each spring
term, for entry into a cohort that will begin the program in the subsequent
summer. All applicants for this program must have completed three years
of successful teaching experience to qualify for admission.
Portfolio
In addition to the general application materials required by the University
of Alabama Graduate School and the Department of Educational Leadership,
Policy & Technology Studies, applicants must construct an application
portfolio, as required by Ala. Admin. Code §290-3-3-.48(1)(b).
This application portfolio is due in the Department by March 31. The
application portfolio must contain the following items:
Three letters of recommendation to include recommendations from the applicant’s principal or supervisor;
Completed copy (all forms) of most recent performance appraisal to include the professional development component if available;
Evidence of ability to improve student achievement;
Evidence of leadership and management potential including evidence of most recent accomplishments in the area of educational leadership;
Summary statement of applicant’s reasons for pursuing instructional leadership certification;
Summary statement of what the applicant expects from the program; and,
The applicant’s vita.
Assessment Center
During the month of April, applicants will be invited to participate
in an Assessment Center. The purpose of the Assessment Center is to
first fulfill the regulatory requirement of a face-to-face interview
with each applicant. The Assessment Center will also include other activities
designed to receive additional information, particularly with respect
to candidate dispositions and candidate writing skills, to adequately
assess candidate aptitude for instructional leadership. The Assessment
Center will be comprised of additional activities, including but not
limited to:
Computer or web-based written interview questions;
In-basket activities;
On-site writing samples, provided by the activities listed above.
A subcommittee composed of at least one practicing school administrator and one university faculty member will score the assessment center activities, report the data from those activities to the Redesign Team, composed of representatives from partnership school districts and university faculty, and make recommendations about changing such assessment center activities to the Redesign Team.
Cohort Numbers
Cohorts will be limited to twenty-five participants at two locations:
on-campus and at the UA Gadsden Center. Additional cohorts will be admitted
at either location, if staffing can be done without over-dependence
upon adjunct faculty.
PROGRAM ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
Program of Study
The program of study for the Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership,
leading to initial certification in Alabama for Instructional Leadership,
will be composed of thirty (30) semester hours of coursework, including
the following courses:
AEL 520: Leadership for Communities and Stakeholders (3 semester hours)
AEL 521: Leadership for Continuous Improvement (3 semester hours)
AEL 522: Leadership for Teaching and Learning (3 semester hours)
AEL 523: Human Resource Development (3 semester hours)
AEL 524: Ethics and Law (3 semester hours)
AEL 525: Management of Learning Organizations (3 semester hours)
AEL 526: Data-Informed Decision-Making (3 semester hours)
AEL 527: Internship in Instructional Leadership (3 semester hours)
BER 540: Quantitative Research; Statistics (3 semester hours)
Any BEF Graduate Level Foundations Course (3 semester hours)
Total: 30 semester hours for Masters Degree in Educational Leadership
*Note: To receive certification at the “A” level, students are also required to have taken a special education survey course (SPE 300 or SPE 500 or the equivalent). If students have taken a special education survey course as part of the requirements for an earlier certificate, it will not have to be taken again. If students have not taken a special education survey course for an earlier certificate, it must be taken in addition to the 30 semester hours detailed above.
Field experience objectives, including progression from observation through participation to leading behaviors, will be embedded in each course and assessed by the faculty member of record for each course. Throughout this program, instructional activities are aligned with instructional objectives, the faculty member of record has the responsibility of assigning the LiveText assessment (1, 2, 3, 4) for each objective, and instructional activities will also generate documentation for the electronic portfolio aspect of LiveText, which will append to the assessment ratings.
Course Sequence
The course sequence for the Master of Arts Degree in Educational
Leadership, leading to initial certification in Alabama for Instructional
Leadership, will begin in each summer term and continue through completion
at the end of the next subsequent summer term. The Course Sequence for
the program will be as described below:
Summer 1 Fall Spring Summer 2
AEL 520 AEL 522 AEL 523 AEL 526
AEL 521 AEL 525 BER 540 BEF Course
AEL 524 AEL 527 (1.5 hours) AEL 527 (1.5 hours)
Internship, Field Experiences, and Residency
The term “internship” relates to the 1.5 plus 1.5 (=3.0)
semester hour credit course with syllabus that has been designated by
the Redesign Team as AEL 527 Internship. “Field experiences”
are problem-based learning experiences required of candidates during
their entire time in the program. Some field experiences will occur
as directed by activities in the didactic courses, some field experiences
will occur as part of the internship, and other field experiences will
occur as part of the candidate’s residency. The term “residency”
applies only to the ten consecutive day requirement of attendance where
one is obtaining field experiences, as required in Ala. Admin. Code
§290-3-3-.48(c), subpart (2), which is recited below:
Universities and LEAs collaborate to insure that candidates have meaningful
and practical experiences in actual school settings during the course
of the instructional leadership preparation program. The internship
is designed to places candidates in the cooperating school during critical
times of instructional planning. This collaborative model requires the
LEAs provide release time for candidates and for universities to work
with LEAs so that the candidate’s experiences are comprehensive
and valuable. The internship experiences are the total sum of practical
experiences, either field or clinical, as part of every course taken
for preparation, plus a residency. The residency is uninterrupted service
in an active school with students present. A residency shall be no less
than ten consecutive full days in the school setting with students present.
The residency allows interns to experience leadership in as many of
the Alabama Leadership Standard indicators as possible. Candidates shall
prepare and maintain a comprehensive portfolio which indicates the level
of experiences and knowledge gained in instructional leadership during
the intern experiences. The portfolio shall be juried by a committee
of university and cooperating school staff before the candidate is recommended
by the university for the instructional leadership certification.
JURY RECOMMENDATION FOR CERTIFICATION
At the end of a candidate’s program, a team composed of at least one university faculty member and one practicing administrator will review the PAT profile for each student and consider the documentation provided in the candidate’s portfolio. Particular attention will be given to those objectives where the candidate received a rating of “2” or less on LiveText. By this process, the subcommittee will then make a decision regarding recommending the candidate for certification to the college certification officer.
NOTE: The Alabama State Board of Education authorized a new Program for the Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership, leading to initial certification in Alabama for Instructional Leadership, in accordance with Ala. Admin. Code §290-3-3-.48. This program will be reviewed by the Alabama State Department of Education Certification Office on 17-18 November 2008 for compliance with certification regulations. The Educational Leadership faculty at The University of Alabama anticipate a successful review and will begin reviewing applications in January 2009 for admission to the next cohort, which commences Summer 2009.