Students apply academic experiences in professional and/or research settings; reflect and critically and constructively analyze experiences from multiple perspectives; and view the work as connecting course content authentic contexts. Students work as professionals with site supervisors and instructors to complete related assignments and relevant background research on the professional and academic resources available.

This four-day academy is designed for educators working with struggling readers in grades K-12. It provides information for teaching struggling readers to read and write. Materials used focus on literacy assessment and intervention techniques. Participants complete homework assignments as part of the academy requirements. Upon successful completion, participants earn a certificate of attendance for 30 contact hours of professional development.

Focuses on critical elements of school law to include due process, search and seizure, church/state conflicts, curriculum control & the expression of controversial views, school authority to make rules and policy governing student and teacher conduct, and liability for student injury. Additionally, issues of equal opportunity such as bilingual education, sexual discrimination and harassment, affirmative active, and special educ will be examined

Content for this course includes the purposes and nature of theory in educational administration and the application of organization theory to education. Theories of leadership, organizations, decision-making, communication, climate, conflict, change process, and motivation are included.

The focus of this course is the development and design of curriculum, and the delivery of instruction to ensure academic success. The course provides key principles of effective supervision, and asks students to apply concepts involved in teaching diverse populations, developing standards-based curricula, and assessment of instructional objectives. The ISLLC Standards for School Leaders are used as framework for inquiry and decision making.

This course examines and promotes prospective administrators, intrapersonal understanding, interpersonal ability, and potential for effectiveness as leaders. Theory and practice relative to the staffing of schools for effective realization of educational goals and objectives will be explored. Current challenges influencing the optimization of human capital in schools will be studied and students will apply the concepts to their own settings.

This course will examine the principles, processes, and responsibilities of financing public education with a focus on the leadership provided at the school level in finance. The course will have a special emphasis on budgeting procedures and accounting systems critical to the management of finances at the building level.

This course is designed to prepare individuals for positions of education leadership by exposing them to hands-on administrators. Students will be engaged in a significant number of administrative activities at the elementary, middle, and high schools levels as well as at central office and at community out-reach sites. Students will be mentored on site by licensed school administrators during their 320-hour internship.

This course provides students with the necessary blend of theory, best practice, and authentic problems of practice in leadership. The course provides a bridge between their thought in other courses and the practicalities involved as they prepare for the administrative leadership selection process and their first leadership assignment. Students learn how to use personal assessment tools and feedback to construct Individual Development Plans.

This module will investigate the current legal, moral, and instructional impact of special education policies in the Commonwealth of Virginia and across the nation. Response to Intervention concepts will be explored in-depth.