What is LSP?
The University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with Bay Area school districts and other partners, offers Leadership Support Program (LSP), a Professional Clear Administrative Services Credential program.
LSP is the longest-running university-based induction program in California, supporting leaders since 2002. Participants in LSP include new administrators who have graduated from the UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute and other leaders from the Bay Area and across California.
Vision
The first years of a leader’s journey are often the most challenging, and novice leaders need systematic, intensive support in order to learn and grow. Through a set of structured opportunities and activities that promote serious, reflective practice, LSP participants deepen their understanding and refine their skills as educational leaders.
LSP enriches the leader’s ability to maintain focus on student and adult learning in urban schools. LSP leaders are distinctive because they:
- Reflect on their own leadership identity, actions, and impact
- Cultivate a collaborative school community
- Build on student, family, and community assets
- Create coherence and stability in ever-changing contexts
- Use an equity and social justice compass to inform decisions
- Inspire organizational actors to achieve durable academic, social, and civic participation outcomes for urban learners
The Program
LSP’s unique features include:
-
Focus on social justice and equity: Our program is centered around the Leadership Connection Rubric, a set of standards that guide effective leadership for more equitable schools.
-
Intensive Coaching: Our coaches are experienced school leaders who have been trained in Coaching for Social Justice and Equity.
-
Cohort model: Students learn with and from fellow leaders from across the Bay Area in ongoing small-group Seminars, facilitated by a veteran school leader.
-
Personalized support: Goal-setting and support focused on the your individual strengths and challenges as a leader and the needs of your specific site/context
-
Differentiated professional learning opportunities: Workshops, online learning modules, and access to additional resources offered by UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education and by our partner at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
Seminars are offered in person at UC Berkeley and online. Students commit to one option for the year.
To get a sense of a typical student experience during the LSP journey, read here.
Rubric
Our work is centered on the Leadership Connection Rubric, which exemplifies both a set of beliefs and clear outcomes for preparing, supporting and sustaining leaders. The LC Rubric aligns with and encompasses the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSELs), with a specific emphasis on equity and social justice.
Leadership Connection Rubric Elements and Outcomes
Leadership Element |
School Leaders |
1. Presence and Attitude |
Communicate a compelling presence and a steadfast belief in the power of the possible. |
2. Identity and Relationships |
Demonstrate personal and professional self-awareness and nourish trusting relationships in a culturally and racially diverse learning organization. |
3. Equity and Advocacy |
Advocate for equitable academic, civic, and social-emotional outcomes for students who have been historically underserved by school and society. |
4. Curriculum and Instruction |
Cultivate high expectations and ensure durable academic and social-emotional learning outcomes for students and adults. |
5. Organization and Systems |
Align systems, structures, and resources that sustain a culturally consonant environment in the service of student learning. |
6. Change and Coherence |
Engage all adults in the change efforts that respond collectively and coherently to the asset and challenges in schools and communities. |
7. Assessment and Accountability |
Exhibit a persistent focus on teacher and student outcomes by developing, aligning, and monitoring an equity-driven assessment system. |