Program Structure
WITH ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PRINCIPAL ENDORSEMENT
The purpose of the Master of Arts Degree in Education (MA-Ed) is to develop principals and assistant principals who have vision and possess a comprehensive set of leadership and management perspectives and skills. The program provides students with an understanding of the school environment and how a principal, through his/her abilities with the technical, managerial, and institutional levels, creates and fosters a professional learning environment that facilitates the learning of teachers and students in his/her care. Students are also provided with a breadth of theory in leadership, a foundation of knowledge, practical experiences and performances that are necessary to understanding the enterprise of educational leadership and educational management. The North Central College program provides a strong foundation of knowledge, dispositions, and performance based on the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) leadership standards to prepare candidates to become successful school assistant principals and principals. The North Central College Educational Leadership and Administration Master’s Degree addresses the new Illinois State Board of Education requirements for candidates whereby applicants must meet the following requirement:
Two years of full-time teaching experience shall have been accrued while the individual held a valid early childhood, elementary, secondary, special K-12, or special preschool-age 21 certificate.
Candidates in the program are able to complete all coursework in approximately two years while maintaining a full-time teaching position. The program does not require a candidate to take time off from teaching to complete the degree. The program includes an internship experience spread over two courses: EDN 690 and EDN 691 . Together, these two courses are designed to allow students to complete all internship requirements within 12 months. One of the internship courses requires a two-week residency with a principal, typically completed in summer.
This one-year internship requires the selection of a principal mentor. The principal mentor must have a minimum of three years of experience, an Illinois license, and evidence of student growth in two of the past five years as a principal. As part of the program, candidates will be required to participate in training by certified staff in accordance with provisions of Section 24 A-3 of the School Code (105 ILCS/24A-3). This training will involve completion of the State-prescribed teacher supervision modules.
Candidates successfully completing a principal preparation program shall obtain a principal endorsement on an administrative certificate and are eligible to work as a principal or assistant principal. (Section 21-7.1 of the School Code; also see 23 Ill. Adm.Code 25.337)
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