One of the things that I found to be frustrating as a teacher was the feeling of being pigeonholed. There were so many things that I wanted to do and experience, but I wasn’t sure where to start. Fortunately, there are programs out there for teachers and non-educators who are interested in pursuing other aspects of the field. Below is a list of programs for those who are looking to make a bigger impact in the field. Many programs are paid opportunities and enable you to network and connect with peers, many from all over the country, who share your passion for education!
#1: Education Pioneers: Education Pioneers is a program that connects educators and non-educators who are interested in education with wonderful opportunities in the field. Schools and districts need people to do all sorts of things—crunch numbers to identify trends in data, student recruitment, create and manage online learning systems…the list goes on and on. Education Pioneers places individuals in these roles. The program offers paid summer and career tracks, so if you are in graduate school or are a teacher and is interested in the program, you can work over the summer. If you are interested in a more permanent transition, there are full year career tracks available as well. If you are interested in learning about Education Pioneers, CLICK HERE.
*EP does require that you are working on or have earned a Masters Degree or higher.
#2: The Broad Center Residency: The Broad Residency is a leadership development program that matches qualified participants to full-time managerial positions in urban school districts, charter management organizations and federal and state departments of education. Residents often lead major projects like opening new schools, managing budgeting processes, increasing operational efficiencies and supporting major policy initiatives (The Broad Center, 2017). The Broad residency is a paid opportunity that lasts for two years. If you are interested in learning more about the Broad Center Residency, CLICK HERE.
#3: The Surge Institute: The Surge Institute was established to broadly address the issues of race and class in urban education through leadership development, technical assistance and advocacy. The Surge Fellowship is designed to identify and groom emerging talent in education, and provide them with leadership development as well as access to networks and visibility, empowering them to bring new ideas, perspectives, and solutions that change the landscape of education (The Surge Institute, 2017). The Surge Institute Fellowship is a one year commitment. If you are interested in learning more about the Fellowship, CLICK HERE.
#4: New Leaders: New Leaders is a program for those who want to be school leaders. There are three tiers of this program: leading instruction, emerging leaders, and aspiring principals. Leading instruction is for teachers who are looking to move into teacher leader roles, emerging leaders for teacher leaders and assistant principals who are looking to strengthen their leadership skills, and aspiring principals are for those who are interested in leading their own school. If you are interested in learning more about New Leader’s programs, CLICK HERE.
#5: Interested in opening your own school or being a school leader? Apply to the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, the FisherFellowship, or the Noble Fellowship. These programs provide paid, yearlong preparation and training that will prepare you to open and lead your own school. This is by no means a limited list as many charter school networks and independent companies have their own programs set aside to train future school leaders. If you interested in learning more information click the links above.
Of course this is not an exhaustive list of programs for educators who are looking to expand their repertoire and non-educators who are interested in the field, but it is a start!
If you know any additional programs and would like to share those, please SEND ME A MESSAGE so that I can add it to this post!
If you are interested in watching the blog on this topic, CLICK HERE.