Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools March 2015 | Page 17

UCPS is ‘growing leaders’ through AP training About a dozen Union County Public Schools assistant principals have been chosen to strengthen their leadership skills through a professional development training called Growing Leaders. The class, which meets monthly, discusses everything from leadership in theory and practice, to how to help teachers become more effective. The class, for example, looks at characteristics of a successful school, what makes a strong teacher and how to handle various human resources issues. Sam Basden, director of support services 6-12, and one of the organizers of the program, said UCPS has been growing its own leaders for many years, but this program goes a step further. “We were already doing it, this is just a way of formalizing the curriculum and trying to create a common shared experience,” Basden said. “When we admitted them in this program, we knew they had the skills to be a principal, but we hope that when they complete the program they will know how to use those skills to be a principal.” Those chosen to participate in the class are already considered knowledgeable Does your child’s face looks like this? The cohort of assistant principals in the Growing Leaders p ɽ