NEXT GENERATION LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
Photo by Amanda Nelson
Preparing Principals
Program exceeds expectations in first years
STORY BY BETH GOINS
W
hen the UK College of Education’s Next
Generation Leadership Academy (NxGLA)
took flight in late 2011 with a $532,418
grant from the James Graham Brown Foundation,
matched by the University of Kentucky, program
leaders hoped it would help school districts across
Kentucky to design new systems for learning.
It has met their expectations – and then some.
Next Generation districts exceed state percentages
in college and/or career readiness, high school
graduation rates, college-going rates and AP exam
success rates.* With 60 of Kentucky’s 173 public
school districts par ticipating so far, it connects school
leaders and teachers with a network of UK faculty,
regional university partners and state and national
leaders.
College of Education faculty involved in NxGLA
– Carmen Coleman, Linda France and Lu Young –
hearing so many district success stories, considered
how to apply these concepts to preparing educators
for a school leadership role – the school principal.
And so, beginning with the 2015-16 academic year,
the Department of Educational Leadership Studies
has retooled the UK College of Education’s Principal
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Preparation program to incorporate NxGL principles.
“The Next Generation Principal Preparation
program is unique in that it focuses on leading for
deeper learning,” said Lu Young. “In keeping with
the Next Generation Academy and the work of the
UK National Center for Innovation in Education,
we emphasize high expectations, competency-based
learning and customized pathways as the means to
ensure that ALL students are prepared to graduate,
ready for future success. To that end, we promote
personalized learning through inquiry, balanced
assessment and student agency as key levers for
next-generation leaders. Through the Academy and
the Center, our aspiring principals have access to
acclaimed leaders across the country who are doing
similar cutting-edge work.”
Over a two-year period, aspiring principals earn
30 credit hours required for principal licensure/
certification and participate in the NxGL academy
both years. The classes are delivered online, so that
students in the program only need to travel to the
seven NxGLA sessions offered each year.
The program is already leaving its fingerprints on