Support and Networking for New Leaders

View the 2022-2023 Administration Induction flyer

2022-2023 Schedule

The Department of Education is excited to provide a comprehensive induction program for all new administrators across the state. A northern cohort and a southern cohort will meet throughout the school year. Sessions will be led by current administrators and national speakers TJ Vari and Joseph Jones, who will guide leaders in practical strategies for a successful first year in their new role. A national author will kick off each session. Participants will be part of a supportive cohort with opportunities to network with other new leaders.

The program is required for first-time administrators OR administrators new to Delaware. Participants who complete the program will meet induction requirements in DE Regulation 1503.

See the reverse side for details - topics, dates, times, and registration information. Sessions are two hours in length. Monthly sessions will alternate between in-person (3 sessions) and virtual meetings (4 sessions).

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First Semester Meetings

• Mission, Vision, Core Values, Ethics
  • Northern Cohort - 9/8, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 9/15, 5:00-7:00pm
• Equity and Family Engagement
  • Northern Cohort - 10/25, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 10/27, 5:00-7:00pm
• Care and Support of Students
  • Northern Cohort - 11/10, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 11/17, 5:00-7:00pm
• Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
  • Northern Cohort - 1/12, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 1/19, 5:00-7:00pm

Second Semester Meetings

• Professional Communities and Capacity
  • Northern Cohort - 2/9, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 2/16, 5:00-7:00pm
• Operations and Management
  • Northern Cohort - 3/9, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 3/16, 5:00-7:00pm
• School Improvement
  • Northern Cohort - 4/20, 5:00-7:00pm
  • Southern Cohort - 4/27, 5:00-7:00pm

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Locations:

In-Person - September, January, April

Participants may select the cohort that is closer to work or home. Alternate as needed:

• Northern Cohort - Alfred G. Waters Middle School, 1235 Cedar Lane Rd, Middletown, DE 19709
• Southern Cohort - Mariner Middle School, 16391 Harbeson Rd, Milton, DE 19968
• Virtual - October, November, February, March

Registration:

Register on PDMS course # 27364.

Sessions are listed for all dates and both cohorts.

View the 2022-2023 FocusEd flyer

FocusED is a targeted professional learning for educators to interact with national experts on today's biggest topics impacting education.

Sessions are FocusED and brief for busy educators - about 45 minutes.

2022-2023 Sessions

About

National experts join us virtually to focus on a pressing issue in today's schools. Facilitators lead a discussion on the application of the topic to schools in Delaware. Participants are eligible to receive free resources - books written by the featured national expert.

Who attends?

All active educators looking to refine their leadership skills are invited. Registration is required,

Session Dates

• September 8th and 15th
• October 25th and 27th
• November 10th and 17th
• January 12th and 19th
• February 9th and 16th
• March 9th and 16th
• April 20th and 27th

Register

Register via PDMS course #27364.

A partnership between the Governor's Office (Delaware Department of Education), University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development (Delaware Academy for School Leadership), and Delaware's 19 local education agencies and public charter schools.

View the Governor's Institute for School Leadership overview document

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Background

The Governor’s Institute for School Leadership (GISL) is a partnership between the Delaware Governor's Office, Department of Education (DOE), University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), and local Delaware school districts and public charter schools. GISL is a collaborative response to the need for continual support and development of leaders at all levels within public education and acts upon the benefits that are derived from intentional and collaborative district, university and government partnerships. By serving as partner, the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) affirms its institutional commitment to “advancing knowledge and developing solutions to the problems that face our schools.” Jointly facilitated by the Delaware Department of Education and the Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL), a center in the
College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware. This partnership serves to offer Delaware school leaders access to specialized resources and world-renowned experts in
education. Within this collaborative partnership, DASL will function as a provider for specialized leadership development and serve as a knowledge broker between University researchers and district
practitioners.

The Governor’s Institute for School Leadership is conceptualized as a two-prong approach to supporting the professional learning of individuals at both ends of the school leadership spectrum. To this end, GISL will (1) support the capacity building of the nineteen public school district superintendents with the creation of a Superintendent Study Council, and (2) serve to strengthen the principal pipeline in Delaware with the creation and implementation of an Assistant Principal Academy.

Mission

The mission of the Governor’s Institute for School Leadership is to foster a collaborative state-wide climate and culture that supports and promotes leader learners and to mobilize resources, research and collective knowledge to build school-level and district-level leadership capacity.

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GISL Program Overview

The initial kickoff of the Governor’s Institute for School Leadership includes the launch of two programs in January 2021.

The GISL has two bodies operating underneath it:

• Superintendent Study Council
• Assistant Principal Academy

Superintendent Study Council

The Superintendent Study Council will create a leadership network consisting of State of Delaware superintendents and other district office administrators who will meet monthly for discussion, collaboration and professional learning on relevant and timely topics related to school improvement, equity, and improving outcomes for all students. The Council is a collaborative effort between districts, DOE and UD-DASL that provides relevant, timely, and meaningful research, best practices, and professional learning to support executive level leaders in addressing complex and evolving challenges in education.

Assistant Principal Academy

The Assistant Principal Academy is a highly selective 12-month program designed to develop distinguished assistant principals into transformational building-level principals. The program consists of 5 modules of instruction aligned to Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), coaching by University of Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL) Leadership Coaches, and a practicebased mentorship with a successful building principal.

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For additional information, please see the Governor's Institute for School Leadership document.

Increase student engagement, empower students to adopt the language of each discipline, and give students the tools to take on professional identities – all while improving reading comprehension and moving the needle on student achievement.

View the Disciplinary Literacy Series for Middle School Teams flyer

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Join authors and adolescent literacy experts Jacy Ippolito, Christina Dobbs, and Megin Charner-Laird as they guide teacher teams through collaborative inquiry into literacy domains critical to middle school reading/writing/communication success such as vocabulary, academic language, and writing.

This project, designed to support middle school science and social studies teachers and teacher teams in addressing the literacy needs of middle school students, will focus on adolescent and disciplinary literacy teaching and learning through the lens of teacher collaborative inquiry.

Project participants will meet monthly (virtually) with recognized experts in the field, Jacy Ippolito, Christina Dobbs, and Megin Charner-Laird, alternately focusing on the texts, tasks, students, and cultures that factor into middle school disciplinary literacy work.

Between monthly virtual workshops, teams will pilot new disciplinary literacy practices in their classrooms and reflect on ways in which we can collaboratively bolster students’ content literacy skills.

The book, Disciplinary Literacy Inquiry and Instruction will serve as the anchor for these sessions and this work.