Students will investigate the impact of school law on the rights of students and educators as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and will include federal and state statutes and regulations (state and federal statutory and regulatory provisions) as well as tort and contract liability as they influence public education. Students will explore federal and state regulations covering specific processes and procedures when working with parents, students and educators.
Using acquired knowledge of historical and current school finance concepts students will review applicable state, federal and private revenue considerations. Additionally, students will explore funding procedures including computation, accounting, auditing and reporting within the framework of planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating a school budget.
This course prepares prospective school administrators in the personnel components of the profession. From analysis of positions to recruitment, selection, induction, retention to termination, current and past court cases are used to understand the historical and legal responsibilities of administrators in today's educational personnel climate. Readings, case studies, presentations, papers, field experience and group activities will be utilized.
Effective educational leaders need to be able to work with and through others. Through the activities in this course, the student will develop and apply various leadership, visionary, interpersonal, and supervisory skills. The development of these skills will enhance the students’ ability to problem solve and communicate information to diverse types of stakeholders as consumers of the latest research on a topic. Through practice, students will become familiar with the various online research sites that specialize in leadership and educational research.
Ethical School Leadership is leadership based on ethical standards of behavior. Since thoughts lead to action, personal beliefs will be examined as to how a belief may affect leadership. Leadership styles and behaviors are examined and students take and examine the results of validated assessments of their own leadership styles. Students will develop a professional code of ethics and values, and create and model a set of values for a school. The activities of this course are designed around the indicators of leadership standard: “High Performing Leaders act with integrity, fairness, and honesty in an ethical manner.”
This course presents an administrator’s overview of the Montessori curriculum from early childhood through adolescence. Specifically, students will explore the Montessori philosophy of educating children from toddler to teenager, as well as age-appropriate teaching techniques and learner explorations. They will study specific content areas, alternative assessments, work plans, and the effective management of Montessori education programs, including observing and assessing educator effectiveness.