Educators with limited or no experience as administrators and those preparing for middle-level administrative positions in public or private elementary, middle, or secondary schools can participate in the CAES program in educational administration.
Normally, a requirement for admission into any program in educational administration is a minimum of three years teaching experience, as well as a state license as a teacher, or the background sufficient to seek such licensure.
Under certain circumstances, this admission requirement is waived, but such candidates must understand, when accepting admission to a program in educational administration, that they will not be eligible for state licensure as an administrator in Massachusetts unless they have a prior teacher licensure and three years of teaching experience.
Certificate of Advanced Educational Studies (CAES)
Experienced educators who already hold the Master's degree are admitted
to the CAES program. The CAES degree signifies a degree beyond the Master's
degree. Since most teachers will already have a Master's degree,
the normal program route for teachers aspiring to careers in school administration
is the CAES degree in educational administration. The degree requirements
for a CAES degree are the same as the Master's degree.
Curriculum for Master's and CAES Degrees in Educational Administration
The curriculum for the Master's and the CAES in Educational Administration
contains a common core of required courses as well as field experiences
for candidates seeking licensure or for candidates with limited practical
experience in schools. Once admitted, each candidate plans a sequence
of courses with a faculty advisor, based on the student's background,
interests, current work status, and needs.
Core Courses for all MEd/CAES Programs
ED 450 Foundations of Ed. Administration
ED 451 Human Resource Administration
ED 618 Finance and Facilities Management
ED 619 Ethics and Equity in Education (required for non-licensure students
only)
ED 705 Education Law and Public Policy
ED 720 Curriculum Leadership
ED 953 Instructional Supervision
plus one elective in Educational Research
Master's and CAES students not seeking licensure must also choose two elective courses in their area of specialization.
Licensure Requirements
The Lynch School offers an approved program to allow students to seek
state licensure as Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent, Principal/Assistant
Principal, Supervisor/Director, and Supervisor of Special Education,
and
a variety of degree programs.
To be licensed in any of these areas, the student must possess Advanced Provisional License as a teacher in Massachusetts or in a state with which Massachusetts has a reciprocal agreement, and have taught for at least three years.
All students seeking licensure in Massachusetts must pass the Massachusetts Test for Education Licensure. The University will advise unlicensed private school teachers who are seeking state licensure in administration of this requirement.
Each student takes a substantive course in the area of licensure, a practicum or internship, and an accompanying seminar: ED 617 The Principalship or ED 656 Admin. of Local School Systems
One practicum or internship from the following:
ED 620 Practicum in Supervision
ED 622 Practicum in School Principalship
ED 623 Practicum in School Superintendency
ED 652 Practicum in Special Education Administration
ED 755 Practicum in Educational Administration
ED 801 Clinical Experience and Seminar in Admininstration
ED 958 Internship in Educational Administration and ED 626 Seminar in
Educational Administration
Field Experiences (Practica)
Programs that lead to state licensure (Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent,
Principal/Assistant Principal, Supervisor/Director, and Director of Special
Education) require two field experiences. These experiences have two goals:
to assist students in reflecting on the interplay between theory and practice
and to expose students to the broad range of settings in which educational
administration takes place.
Practicum
Students are encouraged to take the first Practicum Experience in the
fall at the same time that they take the course in the area of their administrative
license (ED 617 The Principalship, ED 656 Administration of Local School
Systems, or an independent study in Special Education).
Students work to complete these requirements in the Practicum by observing successful administrators in the field and talking with them about their work.
Activities may include
- interviews of practicing building level and central office administrators
- attendance at school committee or school site council meetings
- attendance at board of trustees meetings for private elementary or secondary schools
- participation in local school accreditation activities
- work with community-based organizations
- work on school issues, faculty meetings, or parent meetings or conferences
Other experiences in the field are also appropriate depending upon the student's own educational and professional background and the specific license being sought. Each student will participate in a minimum of two Leadership projects, as defined by the administrator and the student, during the Practicum.
Each student must maintain a reflective journal that records the hours, dates, locations, and types of fieldwork activities. For each activity, students are expected to create a statement of reflection on the activity. How did the experience affect the student's understanding of effective leadership? Also, students are expected to place the reflective statement and/or any work product or other evidence of that activity into their portfolios.
At the conclusion of each semester, the student should present the portfolio to the supervisor who will then assign the appropriate grade for the course. The portfolio will also be submitted and reviewed as part of the student's oral comprehensive examination.
The second field experience consists of two courses taken simultaneously during the spring semester. Students register for a second three-credit course for their practicum according to the license they seek: ED 620 Practicum in Supervision; ED 622 Practicum in School Principalship; ED 623 Clinical Experience in School Superintendency; ED 652 Practicum in Special Education Administration.
At the same time, students must take ED 626, a three-credit course entitled Seminar in Educational Administration. Students must have the approval of their faculty advisor and the faculty program coordinator in Educational Administration prior to beginning a practicum.
In ED 620, 622, 623, or 652, students work intensively under the direction of a full-time school administrator. A member of the Lynch School faculty, the University Supervisor, visits the student on site a minimum of three times during the field experience.
Students are expected to complete weekly field-based assignments for the ED 626 seminar and an in-depth field-based leadership project to be determined jointly with the cooperating practitioner and the University Supervisor.
Each student will create a portfolio of materials documenting the practicum experience that will demonstrate a mastery of the standards defined by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The portfolio will be reviewed and a grade submitted by the University Supervisor. This experience will be reviewed as part of the student's oral comprehensive examination, where at least one question will require students to integrate and reflect on their fieldwork experiences and to link theory to practice as it was observed during the field experience.
In ED 626, students meet each week to learn about a current best practice in administration. They then complete a field-based assignment about that practice and share their findings with class members. In this way, each student learns not only from his or her experience, but also from the experiences of colleagues in other settings.