Teacher Leadership Certificate

Objectives

The Educational Leadership program at Montana State University is nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) as well as by the Montana Board of Public Education.  The focus of the program of this certificate is to provide professional development to K-12 teachers in the areas of enhancing and evaluating teaching and learning, instructional and institutional leadership in schools, and resources for enhancing equity in schools.

The Teacher Leadership Certificate is a 15-credit certificate designed to provide MT teachers with coursework and professional growth opportunities to enhance their instructional capacity and leadership contributions to their school communities. Teachers in many school districts are often asked to take leadership roles including dean of students, instructional coach, and department chair. Often, teachers receive no specialized training to help them in their new teacher leadership roles. The Teacher Leadership Certificate includes coursework and experiences that address general school law, special education law and policy, school finance, teacher mentoring and instructional coaching, data analysis, diversity and equity considerations, and school culture and school improvement.

This certificate can be completed in 2-4 semesters depending upon courses chosen for an individual student’s Program of Study. It is designed as a “stackable credential” so that students can apply this certificate to the M.Ed. Principal Licensure program and complete their principal licensure with an additional 2-3 semesters of coursework and field experiences. 

This program of study has been developed to continue the professional learning of new teachers and to ready teachers for opportunities in various positions of school leadership, including instructional coaches, department chairs and deans of students.  Using a blended delivery model, it seeks to meet the needs of students who desire convenience and face-to-face interaction. This program is offered more than 80% online.  Courses will be delivered using distance educational methods during the school year. During the summer, students will meet on the Bozeman campus for face-to-face instruction. The one to two week face-to-face instruction will usually take place during the latter weeks of June or early July.

Program Flow

The ideal time to begin the Teacher Leadership Certificate program is Spring Semester. Students are expected to take coursework in the sequence outlined in their individual Program of Study. Developing a learning community is a critical aspect of principal preparation and teacher leadership. To enhance the development of a learning community among the students and to facilitate learning by offering an integrated curriculum, students will be placed into a cohort based on year of acceptance into the program and will matriculate together.

Teacher Leadership Certificate Program of Study

* Substitute courses may be approved by graduate advisor  based on
area of specialization.

Chairs

Students in the Teacher Leadership Certificate program will be assigned an advisor. The advisor will guide the student's course selection and progress toward certificate completion including the submission of the student's Graduate Program of Study form.

Contact Information