Minnesota Principals Support Series
The University of Minnesota has partnered with the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington (CEL) to provide this unique offering for leadership development. The Minnesota Principals Support Series aims to provide teams of district office leaders who support and supervise school principals with practical tools, evidence-based best practices, and networking opportunities that will enable them to provide their principals with the support they are seeking in order to succeed on behalf of Minnesota's kids.
CEL is one of the nation's leaders in providing robust professional learning for central district office leaders, most notably in their nationally recognized Principal Supervisor Academy. Based on this work, and grounded in CEL's 4 Dimensions of School Leadership™ Framework and the Principal Support Framework, the Principals Support Series brings central office leaders and principals together as a team with their counterparts in cohorts; participant teams co-create how their central office and principals can work together so that they can ensure that every student—especially those who have been most marginalized— has a humanizing school experience that makes them "happy and proud," as CEL research found kids describe what they most want from school.
- Cohorts meet for 4 sessions: each lasts 1.5 days
- Lunch provided on full day meeting
- Teams work together in between each session
- 2024-25 Schedule:
- Cohort 1: October 8, November 19, January 28, February 11
- Cohort 2: October 9, October 10 (half day), November 20, November 21 (half day), January 29, January 30 (half day), February 12, February 13 (half day)
- Suggested that district teams consist of six people: four members of the central office who supervise principals (e.g., Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Special Education Director, Teaching and Learning Director, Equity and Engagement Director), and two building principals
- Investment: $1750 per person, or $10,000 for a team of six (savings of $500)
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Facilitators
Katie Pekel
Executive Director of Educational Leadership, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Max Silverman
Executive Director, University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL)
Michele Mason
Senior Director, University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL)
Comments from current participants
The initial Principals Support Series cohort launched in Fall 2023 with 33 individual participants from 6 Districts (St Anthony / New Brighton, Bloomington, Rochester, West St Paul / Mendota Heights /Eagan, Burnsville, and Eastern Carver County). Here are some thoughts from current participants:
Quote from Jacque L. Peterson
Our participation in PSS opened the door for not only stronger collaboration between Central Office leaders and Principals, but stronger and more effective professional development that is co-planned and responsive to current needs. We are looking forward to year two with an expanded team to further design systems of support for our Principals.
Quote from Peter Olson-Skog, PhD
Current research is clear. There is no better place to spend your time, resources, and energy than building the capacity of your principals as equity-driven instructional leaders. The Principals Support Series created the space and inspiration we needed to do just that. With our principals at the table, we had real and critical conversations about what we needed principals to do and what district leaders needed to do to support their charge.
Quote from Jared Groehler
"The Principal Support Series has fostered authentic two-way communication between building leaders and central office administrators. This has led to co-creating professional learning opportunities in our district, and we are looking forward to bringing more central office administrators into our schools to truly understand the unique context of each building."
Quote from Chris Bellmont, EdD
The Principal Support Series helped me frame and make sense of the joy, conflict, and opportunity that comes out of the Principal/CO relationship. Spending meaningful time in collaboration around the research and a suggested path forward has positioned us to reach better results for students, families, and staff in our community. As a result of the PSS, I am noticing systemic and episodic examples of positive change.
Quote from Andrew Kubas, EdS
As a former elementary and secondary principal, I had lived the ‘other side’ of the disconnect between Central Office and the school sites. The Principals Support Series has provided us with a cohort of local professionals who can serve as a great resource for brainstorming and problem solving around this issue. Having both Principals and Central Office staff at the sessions has allowed for honest and authentic feedback that is anchored in solutions and efficiencies. The PSS ranks as one of the best PD programs that I have ever been a part of.