CSLA, Day 2 (Post 2)

The first presentation that I went to today was "Bridges to Leadership: Tier One." This focused on an alternative way to earn your administrative credential. While I don't need one now, you never know what life will bring.

The presentation was given by Mark Archon, director of Administrative Leadership Services for Madera County Office of Education. This program is one of those now authorized as an "alternative, non-university" preparation program for the first tier of an administrative credential. The other two options are a traditional university-based course or the examination option.

The program consists of four pieces:

• Coursework. This is comprised of nineteen meetings over a fifteen-month period.
• Online. This includes both synchronous and asynchronous activities.
• Fieldwork. You collect and analyze data from your own site. This also includes job shadowing and a leadership project.
• Coaching. You are assigned a coach who has been trained in Cognitive Coaching. This supports on-going learning and its application.

The advantages of this program include:

• Modeling a standards-based system. It's not about the grade; it's about achieving a certain level of quality in your assignments.
• Modeling a Professional Learning Community.
• Providing a trained coach.
• Flexibility with locations, dates, and times.

Your end result includes having to give a 20-30 minute presentation on the Professional Learning Community that you established at your site as part of your Leadership Project.