The current cohort of the UM School of Education’s Principal Corps and program alumni from across Mississippi visited Jackson on February 3 and 4 during the 2014 Principal Corps Conference.
The conference allowed current recruits and alumni the opportunity to network and gain exposure to educational policy issues and Mississippi legislators who are at the forefront of the current legislative session.
During the event, current Principal Corps recruits and UM faculty toured the capitol and met Sen. Gray Tollison, chairman of the Mississippi Senate Education Committee and Rep. John Moore, chairman of the Mississippi House Education Committee.
Small sessions with guest speakers during the two-day conference included:
Shaping Education Pilicy from a Legislative Perspective
Gov. William Winter
Dr. Andrew Mullins, former UM Chief of Staff to the Chancellor
Leaders Lead!
Mr. Jim Barksdale, major UM benefactor and businessman
The Challenges of Leadership
Dr. Larry Drawdy, Deputy State Superintendent for Conservatorship
Interacting with Policy Makers at the Local, State and Federal Levels
Dr. Tom Burnham, Principal Corps Interim Director
Dr. Andrew Mullins, former UM Chief of Staff to the Chancellor
Policy Issues – 2014 Legislative Session
Ms. Nancy Loome, The Parents’ Campaign Executive Director
The Principal Corps offers one of the most valuable educational leadership scholarships in the state and is centered around two full-time internships where candidates work alongside veteran principals. All cohort members receive a living stipend, full tuition, books, laptop and tablet computers, and housing while at UM. In addition to two summer sessions, Principal Corps participants come to Oxford one weekend per month for face-to-face instruction during the school year. Each graduate receives a Master of Education or Specialist in Education degree in educational leadership. Principal Corps graduates have posted an average score of 179 on the School Leadership Licensure Assessment, 10 points above Mississippi’s cut score for an administrator license.
The program was established in 2009 with a $2 million grant from the Jim and Donna Barksdale Foundation. Last October, the program received $1.5 million in new funding from the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation to expand the program’s reach across the state. Upon the graduation of the current cohort, the number of alumni is expected to grow to 49. Next year, administrators hope to expand the program and accept as many as 15 new educators for its sixth cohort.
More photos are available on Facebook.
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