Professional Development for School Leaders Initiative

NEW JERSEY PROFESSIONAL LEARNING GUIDE FOR SCHOOL LEADERS

The following document is intended for use as implementation guidance regarding the professional learning requirements for school leaders listed in N.J.A.C. 6A:9-16. The initiative seeks to build the instructional leadership capabilities of principals, supervisors, and superintendents through a standard-based and job-embedded approach to professional growth.

The New Jersey Professional Learning Guide for School Leaders has been designed to provide guidance and support to New Jersey school leaders.  From the Executive Summary – “Recent research about effective schools reveals that when focus is placed upon teaching and learning, school leaders play a pivotal role in improving student achievement. Over the last several years, New Jersey has been involved in strengthening school leadership policies to support this role across the continuum of practice. The state has been supported in these efforts by a grant from The State Action for Education Leadership Project (SAELP) funded and administered by the Wallace Foundation. The New Jersey SAELP Consortium, whose members represent key stakeholders including the professional associations for teachers and school leaders, institutions of higher education, school boards, the business community, and the New Jersey Department of Education, developed recommendations to strengthen state policies around the recruitment, preparation, licensure, induction and ongoing professional learning of school leaders. These recommendations were realized in the revised licensing regulations that the State Board of Education adopted in December 2003.  The platform on which the array of recommendations rests is the adoption of the New Jersey Professional Standards for School Leaders, which outlines what school leaders must know and be able to do in order to operate as effective leaders of instruction and school improvement.” 

New Jersey Professional Learning Guide for School Leaders