Talented educators who aspire to be principals in the Knox County Schools are encouraged to apply to be a part of the fifth cohort of the Leadership Academy, a collaborative effort between the Knox County Schools and the University of Tennessee (UT).
The deadline to submit applications is Monday, February 17, 2014, by 4:30 p.m. Applications and complete details on the submission process can be found here.
The program will run from May 20, 2014, through July 2015. The rigorous 15-month experience is intended to significantly shorten the learning curve for the increasingly complex and demanding job of a school principal. Teachers, instructional coaches, teacher leaders, counselors, assistant principals and others with educational experience and instructional knowledge are encouraged to apply. Applicants should aspire to be school principals in the Knox County Schools within the next one to five years.
Leadership Academy fellows graduate with a master’s degree or education specialist degree and Tennessee principal license. Those completing the program are not guaranteed principal jobs but will be very competitive candidates for openings. Fellows receive free tuition and are paid as assistant principals while serving as Leadership Academy fellows. In return, fellows must commit to working in the Knox County Schools for at least three years after finishing the program.
During the first summer, Leadership Academy fellows will be full-time UT students. Fellows will be placed in a Knox County school for the academic year, spending four days a week with a mentor principal, learning instructional leadership hands-on. The fifth day each week will be spent in coursework and seminars at UT with both professors and practitioners learning the theory and research associated with effective educational leadership. The second summer will be spent completing capstone courses meant to culminate the experience.
The Leadership Academy is one of the components of the Center for Educational Leadership, part of UT’s College of Education, Health and Human Sciences. The center is funded through a private donor and the Cornerstone Foundation. Race to the Top federal funding also assists in supporting the Leadership Academy.
