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KIPP has launched its inaugural KIPP Leadership Design Fellowship, an eight-month program for public and charter school system administrators that provides intensive training on KIPP’s principal development model. The fellowship, run by the KIPP School Leadership Programs (KSLP), will provide an opportunity for participants to get an in-depth look at KIPP’s principal selection, training, and development model, explore a variety of other innovative school leadership models around the country, and join a cohort of reform-minded education leaders.

Through three interactive summits, participant-directed projects, and a community of practice, participants will be prepared to design principal development programs in their own public or charter school districts. Each summit will be held over a multi-day period. All activities will be led by KIPP Foundation staff or the staff of KIPP’s partner organizations.

Summit I: Principal Recruitment, Selection, & Developing a Leadership Pipeline (March 20-22, 2012 in Houston, TX)
Participants will explore effective practices in creating a leadership pipeline and recruiting talented candidates. Intensive sessions will focus on designing a selection process that reflects organizational values and aligned principal competencies. Participants will also join the KIPP Foundation staff for a portion of their annual principal selection process and will see KIPP principals in action during a school visit.

Summit II: Principal Training & Residencies (June 26-28, 2012 in Chicago, IL)
Participants will attend a portion of the KIPP Summer Institute for principal training and work with staff to design a comprehensive training program for principals. Participants will also explore how to design high-value residency training experiences for their principals.

Summit III: Principal Support & Evaluation (October 9-11 2012 in Atlanta, GA)
After designing leadership training programs during the summer, participants will learn about effective on-going professional development and supportfor principals. They will also learn effective practices in evaluating principals and schools, and will attend a school visit and first-year school review.

Program Goals

• Understand how to position principals as the central lever in providing the highest-quality education for students
• Design high-value pipeline, recruitment, selection, training, support, and evaluation systems
• Learn effective practices in leadership development from KIPP partners
• Build a professional community of district leaders to share and leverage effective practices around the country

Ideal Candidates

KIPP is looking for reform-minded districts and charter management organizations (CMOs) that want to improve the selection, training, and development of their principals. The representative from the district or CMO should have the:

• Capacity to impact and influence his/her district’s current principal hiring and training programs
• Willingness and ability to share effective practices from his/her current district
• Desire to work hard and contribute to a close-knit community of practice
• Belief that closing the achievement gap is possible though transformative school leadership
• Commitment and district support to attend all three summits

Costs

Tuition, travel, lodging, food, and all summit materials will be paid for by the KIPP Foundation. In 2010, KIPP was awarded the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund, a federal grant that will allow KIPP to train more leaders, increase the size of the network at a faster rate, and share effective practices with other schools and networks, which will benefit a significantly higher number of students. The KIPP Leadership Design Fellowship is made possible by federal i3 funding and matching partner grants.

To Apply

The first cohort of KIPP Leadership Design Fellows has already started. If you are interested applying to the program for the 2012-13 school year, please send letters of interest between November 15, 2012 and December 15, 2012 to KLDF@kipp.org. Please include in the letter:

• Why you and your district are interested in participating in this Fellowship
• An explanation of your ability to influence your district’s current principal hiring and training process
• Your commitment to participate in all aspects of the program, especially through attending the three summits and actively engaging in the community of practice

Based on the letters of interest, a limited number of candidates will be invited to formally apply to the KIPP Leadership Design Fellowship. The formal application will include letters of support from the district superintendent or CEO and a brief district talent self-reflection. Applications will be due January 15, 2013. Candidates will be invited to interview with the selection team at the final stage of the selection process.

To learn more, email KLDF@kipp.org.