'The Power of the Network'
Leadership
Houston A+ Challenge is dedicated to helping teachers and school administrators transform into more effective leaders to help guide their schools toward success. We do this in a number of different ways.
The most salient means toward leadership is intensive training:
For All Educators
We train Critical Friends Group coaches to form and facilitate their own, campus-based small groups that are dedicated to ongoing professional development. CFGs meet regularly to deepen participants' knowledge of academic subject matter, examine their teaching practices and consider issues of whole-school change.
For Aspiring Principals
Our Regional Principal Leadership Academy is designed to recruit, prepare and support aspiring principals to provide strong instructional leadership for the Houston region’s most challenged middle and high schools. The rigorous, three-year experience begins with a six-week summer session and a full-time, yearlong internship with a mentor principal in a local public secondary school.For Current Principals and APs
Our New Visions in Leadership Academy is a part-time, two-year program aimed at developing the leadership skills of school principals and vice principals. These school leaders are coached to create and lead professional learning communities in their schools. More than 200 Houston-area leaders have graduated from New Visions since 1999.For Teacher Leaders
Our pilot National Board Certified Teacher Candidacy Program is the Houston area’s first comprehensive training for teacher leaders working as a cohort toward this nationally recognized certification. The program recruits middle and high school teachers from the content areas of greatest need – science and mathematics.For Senior Leaders
As part of our new Executive Leadership Council, senior-level district leaders from across the Houston area meet regularly to review case studies and share best practices for supporting instructional leadership at the campus level. The group is facilitated by national school reform expert Dr. Mary Neuman, former director of leadership for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
In addition, Houston A+ provides numerous opportunities to promote leadership through public forums and grant opportunities:
- The National Speakers Series brings renowned researchers from across the country to Houston, where our local educators can learn about the latest developments in education.
- The 2008 Reforming Schools Summer Institute was the event’s 12th anniversary, and annually provides a multiple-day learning experience for Houston teachers.
- The two-year Critical Friends Group as Research Team (CART) grants enable educators to conduct a wide variety of research inquiries about their teaching practices and make their research public
