Administrative Services Credential program

This course will explore the shaping of education in America by law and the legal system as students are encouraged to become familiar with the manner in which courts operate, how they make their decisions, and the impact of their decisions on education and educational policy.

This course will examine the trends, issues, scope, and practices of personnel administration in schools and address issues of personnel management strategies, theories of managing school personnel, and the evaluation protocol for classified and certificated personnel.

This course will examine the trends, issues, scope, and practices of school finance and address issues of financial management strategies, techniques for developing a projected budget and strategic plan, Local Control Funding Formula, and Local Control Accountability Plan.

Students will analyze multiple sources of school site/district data for the purpose of identifying equity gaps to inform an initial draft plan for equitable improvement in line with the school’s vision, mission, and goals. Within the cycle of investigate, plan, act, and reflect, students will collect and analyze multiple sources of longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data. Students will conduct an equity gap analysis to identify potential causal factors, all culminating in a problem statement, defining a specific educational need related to equity. Students will attend one best practices Saturday symposium that will present topics on critical issues in education for administrators.

Students will focus on facilitating collaborative professional learning within a community of practice for the purpose of improving teaching and student learning. Within the cycle of investigate, plan, act, and reflect, students will identify and work with a small group of educators to identify a problem of practice and select an approach for working together. Additionally, students will identify an evidence-based strategy to address the problem of practice that will strengthen and increase equitable learning opportunities for all students. As part of the cycle, students will reflect on how their facilitation supports the group to address the problem of practice, and how they responded to the group’s feedback on their facilitation and on their ability to support the professional learning of the community of practice. Students will attend one best practices Saturday symposium that will present topics on critical issues in education for administrators.

Students will focus on coaching an individual teacher to strengthen teaching practices and improve student learning and/or well-being. Within the cycle of investigate, plan, act, and reflect, students will become familiar with coaching and observation practices at the school; identify a volunteer teacher whom the student will coach; and conduct a full coaching cycle, including a pre- observation meeting, a focused classroom observation to collect CSTP-related evidence of practice, and conduct a post-observation meeting. Throughout this leadership cycle, students will reflect on their own strengths and areas for professional growth as a coach and an equity minded leader. Students will attend one best practices Saturday symposium that will present topics on critical issues in education for administrators.

In the Administrative Fieldwork/Practicum (EDUA 590/591), students examine administrative and supervisory behaviors in the context of the school site based upon Narrative Reflections, Signature Assignment Activities and the CalAPA Cycles. These activities are designed to give students hands-on experiences at the school site and district levels anchored in the California Administrator Performance Expectations (CAPEs). Students must complete a minimum of 50 hours of practicum experience in EDUA 590 and a minimum of 50 hours in EDUA 591, respectively. The total hours of practicum experience is 100 hours minimum. A minimum of 20 hours of experience must be at the district level and a minimum of 20 hours must be at a site different from where the practicum student works. Finally, a minimum of 20 hours must be spent working with a diverse student population.

The second practicum (EDUA 591) is taken concurrently with the second half of the course work and builds upon the accomplishments of the first practicum. The advanced practicum is designed to continue fostering opportunities to develop and practice the California Administrator Performance Expectations (CAPEs). These practices assist in preparing candidates with the skill set necessary for effective school leadership. A minimum of 50 practicum hours must be completed in EDUA 591, adding to the 50 hours already competed in EDUA 590.

This course will combine the important theories of educational leadership with the theories of transformational leadership as it examines the context of change and its impacts society and its schools; determines leadership qualities and skills necessary for creating successful and enduring change in schools; explores the culture and politics of change as it relates to various members of the school community including administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community leaders; and develops effective strategies for marketing, managing, implementing, and integrating change in three essential area: teaching, learning, and leadership.

This course will provide students with an intensive study of pedagogical approaches and materials for teaching in schools, including state curriculum documents, the curricular recommendations of professional associates, recommendations that have emerged from recent educational research, and the recommendations of recent reform movements with emphasis on the study of alternative approaches to curriculum theory, design, practice, and evaluation.

In compliance with state requirements, the preliminary administrative services credential program offers a remediation opportunity for candidates in need of repeating a failed attempt for one or more of the CalAPA cycles. Candidates will repeat the corresponding 8 week course of the CalAPA Cycle in need of remediation under instructor guidance. Candidates may repeat as many times as necessary to receive a passing score on the CalAPA cycle(s). All three CalAPA cycles are available for remediation at 1 unit per cycle per attempt at the current MAED tuition. (Please refer to the MAED Handbook for more information on the remediation process.)
*per cycle needing remediation