In their commitment to building leaders who will make a difference in the world, Harvard Business School (HBS) and the
Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) have partnered to develop a new, online professional learning opportunity to help prepare preK-12 school leaders at all stages of their careers drive change and lead high-performing schools:
the Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML).
Combining expertise in managing teams and organizations with a commitment to school and instructional leadership, this program integrates best practices from both schools to address a critical question: “What do principals need to know and do to make their school as successful as it possibly could be?”
As principals today are tasked to serve in increasingly multi-dimensional and challenging roles, "new approaches to professional education are required," said former Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean James E. Ryan. "CSML will help principals, at all stages of their preparation and careers, tackle the complex, growing demands on them and the schools they serve. HGSE faculty, in collaboration with talented faculty at HBS and across the university, bring expertise in both education and leadership, enabling the CSML to offer transformative professional education at scale."
This certificate program will comprise four distinct, yet interrelated, courses, which may be taken individually or completed together to earn a comprehensive certificate. Leading Change, the first to become available, focuses on three elements related to school improvement—adaptive leadership, culture, and equity—and provides participants with the management and leadership skills to help diverse stakeholders establish priorities and improve practice.
All CSML courses will be conducted entirely on the HBX platform, providing a unique online, interactive, and social learning experience. This format is intended to provide broad access to hundreds of thousands of schools leaders across the United States, and globe.
“While we built the HBX platform to deliver case-based business education, we’ve learned in our three years of operation that online learning based on the experiences of practitioners in the field is powerful no matter the sector," said HBX Executive Director Patrick Mullane. "We are therefore thrilled to be a part of a program that will help principals and senior administrators improve the performance of their schools and students."
On July 18th, the first wave of Leading Change launched with a packed cohort of 600 school leaders. For four weeks, groups of 300 will have the opportunity to connect and interact with their peers.
The next wave of Leading Change will begin October 24th, and registration is now open. Learn more about the Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CMSL).