Department Name

Information for Prospective Students: Non-Degree Programs

In addition to the degree programs previously described, the Education Leadership Program offers several professional development opportunities to both first-time students and to alumni interested in continuing their graduate education. These are listed below.

Klingenstein Fellows Program
Program Director: Pearl Rock Kane

The Klingenstein Fellows Program is a one-year or a one-semester program designed to develop leadership skills in administration or academic areas. Fellows may elect to enroll in a degree program or to do graduate work as a non-degree student. Through seminars and course work at Teachers College and the other professional and graduate schools of Columbia University, the program seeks to enlarge the perspectives of Fellows and to prepare them to assume increased leadership responsibility. The fellowship includes a living stipend and a substantial tuition allowance.

Applicants for the Klingenstein Fellows Program who wish to be considered for the master’s degree must submit the Klingenstein Fellows application as well as the Teachers College Application for Admission. Please send the fellowship application to the Klingenstein office by January 15 and the Teachers College application to the Admissions Office by January 15. Contact Professor Pearl Rock Kane at (212) 678-3156 for more information.

Klingenstein Summer Institute

An intensive off-site residential Summer institute is offered for independent elementary, middle or high school teachers with two to five years of teaching experience. The Institute is designed to increase classroom effectiveness and to prepare teachers who have demonstrated outstanding promise for leadership positions in private schools. Participation is based on an award that covers all expenses. Participants earn four graduate credits. Contact Professor Pearl Rock Kane at (212) 678-3156 for more information.

Klingenstein Visiting Fellows Program

The Klingenstein Visiting Fellows Program is a two week program of intensive study and interaction with professional peers for heads of independent schools. School heads are in residence at the College. They participate in symposia on issues confronting independent school leaders and attend colloquia on topics of interest including educational philosophy, diversity, and organizational change. School heads also pursue independent study, investigating problems of particular relevance to their school situations. Fellowship awards are granted annually. Please send completed application packets to the Klingenstein Center by January 15. Contact Professor Pearl Rock Kane at (212) 678-3156 for more information.

Superintendents Work Conference

The conference is a week-long professional development program held each year during the month of July. Conference participants meet with nationally known educational leaders, public policy makers, and scholars to discuss and analyze major educational and social issues. Attendance is by nomination and invitation. Contact Professor Thomas Sobol at (212) 678-3783 for more information, or visit http://conference.tc.edu.

School Law Institute

The School Law Institute is a five-day, national professional-education program for educators and attorneys, administered in July by the Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation and held at Columbia Law School. Topics covered include safety and order (search and seizure, child abuse, and the schools’ authority to regulate student and staff conduct); equity issues (affirmative action, harassment, HIV/AIDS, school-finance reform, and issues of poverty and race in education); special education law and policy; standards-based reform and high-stakes testing; confidentiality of student records; legal issues in teacher evaluation; and free speech rights of students and teachers. For further information, contact the Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation at (212) 678-3987.

Management Systems Summer Institute

The Summer Institute in Management Systems meets for two weekends in June. It is designed to enhance the school administrator’s perspective of the business side of the educational enterprise. Each summer takes a new topic. Past topics have included: The Ecology of Financial Planning, Budget Forecasting, School Facility Needs Assessment, and the Politics of the Budget Process. Future topics will include: Managing Technology in the Classroom, The Pros and Cons of Private Contracting and School Site Budgeting. The Institute offers a combination of classroom lectures by leading experts in the field, simulations, case studies, and team work. Contact the Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation at (212) 678-3987 for more information.

Concurrent Programs in Education and Law

The Education Leadership Program and Columbia Law School offer courses that prepare students for positions that require knowledge and expertise in education law. There are at present no formal joint-degree programs between Teachers College and Columbia Law School, but students admitted to both schools may be eligible (through ad hoc arrangements) to pursue education and law degrees concurrently. For information, contact Professor Jay Heubert at (212) 678-3775.

Principals Work Conference

The Education Leadership Program sponsors the Principals Work Conference through the Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation. School leaders explore creative administrative problem-solving in terms of community building, curriculum models, school design, school-community assessment and inter-institutional relations in the context of school reform. Participants attend to current research. Contact the Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation at (212) 678-3987 for more information.