The primary goal of this evaluation report is to effectively communicate the value and impact of the Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy to a diverse set of community college stakeholders and to provide valuable insights into the program's effectiveness. This report presents the findings from the 2021-2022 LFM Academy pilot evaluation, assessing…

Self-efficacy is considered a key component for successful leadership; however, educational leadership doctoral programs do not often focus on leader self-efficacy (LSE) for principals. The purpose of this study was to understand perceptions of Ed.D. alumni who are currently principals regarding what contributed to the development of leader…

California has a notable history of investing in educational leaders' professional learning. In 1983, the state launched the California School Leadership Academy (CSLA), which it funded until the academy was discontinued due to statewide budget cuts in 2003. Research showed that CSLA was a source of high-quality professional development. In 2019,…

Students with disabilities across the united states are not achieving at the same rate as their non-disabled peers. With their flexibility and capacity for innovation, charter schools offer an opportunity to improve these outcomes. However, data from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), parent focus groups and surveys, and research on schools'…

When people talk about "community college leadership," they typically refer to presidents or other executive leaders, mirroring a common societal perception that leaders are individuals at the top of an organization's hierarchy. However, leading from the middle is not a contradiction in terms. A growing number of community college…

NGSS Early Implementers is a six-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The Initiative has used a train-the-trainer model to maximize spread of professional learning about the NGSS in…

Many family engagement programs logically focus on providing training and support for parent leaders, giving them the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively partner with schools. Even with comprehensive parent leadership training, sustainable family engagement initiatives cannot truly take hold without buy-in, shared understanding, and a…

This paper describes the first cycle of an action research study investigating the impact of new blended learning courses in a professional doctorate program, the results of which will inform future course planning and pedagogy. Specifically, core researcher-faculty members associated with the program were interested in understanding how a blended…

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe successful innovations in educational leadership preparation programs. Professors of educational leadership from across the nation nominated innovations of 12 programs. Based on review of descriptions of the innovations provided by nominees, further documentation on the innovations was…

This article explores the application of Whitaker, King, and Vogel's (2004) best practices for the implementation of partnerships regarding school leadership preparation programs in 3 school district-university collaboratives located in urban settings with large minority student populations. The 3 partnerships studied include the Nashville…

This qualitative examination of two distinct administrative internship experiences takes advantage of a sample of candidates who have had the rare opportunity to participate in two different internship programs. The eight candidates who participated in the California Leadership Lab and the Educational Leadership Program's Field Experience course…

Principal preparation programs are designed to ensure that candidates who successfully complete the programs are qualified and knowledgeable, and have had leadership experiences that prepare them to compete for leadership positions in today's schools (Hale S.z Moorma, 2003). Providing meaningful leader-ship experiences in non-internship programs…

Child Trends conducted a random assignment evaluation of the Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors program, one of the largest programs in the United States working with low-income Latino parents of children ages zero to five. Since it began in 2007, the program has served over 30,000 parents/families in 34 states. The evaluation study examined the…

This article investigates the influence of Parent Services Project's Vision and Voice Family Leadership Institute (VVFLI; formerly known as Parent Leadership Institute) on parent leadership capacity and action. Pre- and post-test data were collected from new VVFLI attendees during their first (N = 83) and last (N = 85) session, respectively.…

Although there is no common definition for teacher leadership, the concept is continually advanced as a key component for both the success of schools and professionalization of teachers. Many view teacher leadership as specific administrative roles while others view it as any opportunity in which teachers contribute to the decision-making process.…