Educational Administration – K12 Principal Certificate

The Educational Administration – K-12 Principal Graduate Certificate program is designed for students who already have earned a master’s degree to develop school administrative leadership and management skills. Minnesota State requirements for elementary and secondary principals are embedded in the courses. The curriculum is practitioner-focused with an emphasis on applying organizational leadership theories with practical skills needed by school administrators to become leaders of effective learning organizations.

Program Outcomes

The following outcomes are state-identified competencies for educational administration in principal preparation.

Core Program Outcomes

1. Leadership: Lead educational institutions and departments through collaborative, visionary planning, and decision making.
2. Organizational Management: Manage and evaluate organizational operations including human, monetary, and physical resources for institutional improvement.
3. Diversity Leadership: Promote, create, and monitor appreciation and cultivation of diversity.
4. Policy and Law: Interpret, develop, and implement local, state, and federal policy and law.
5. Political Influence and Governance: Nurture a cooperative alliance of key stakeholders to influence the politics and governance of educational institutions.
6. Communication: Utilize communication skills essential to inform and facilitate effective organizational communication.
7. Community Relations: Establish and maintain positive and effective community relations relative to educational institutions.
8. Curriculum Planning and Development for the Success of All Learners: Facilitate the planning and development of curriculum, assessment, and instruction.
9. Instructional Management for the Success of All Learners: Design, implement, and support instruction and assessment strategies and behavior management, integrates current research appropriate for all learners.
10. Human Resource Management: Interpret, apply, and manage policies and procedures which foster positive and productive performance from faculty and staff.
11. Values and Ethics of Leadership: Practice ethical leadership, ensuring the best interest of all learners.
12. Judgment and Problem Analysis: Implement and facilitate problem-solving strategies integrating critical thinking, creativity, logic, and collaboration.
13. Safety and Security: Create safety and security plans to sustain an emotionally and physically safe educational environment for all.

Principal Specific Outcomes

P1. Instructional Leadership: Apply school and district-wide literacy and numeracy systems.

P2. Monitor Student Learning: Develop and manage effective learning environments and experiences for all students.

P3. Leadership: Lead the community within K-12 institutions, promoting inclusiveness and effective communication.

Program Structure and Delivery

Students may transfer a maximum of six graduate semester credits from a regionally accredited institution if those credits were earned during the five years prior to admission, are administrative in nature, have been approved by the program director and the dean, and have not been used as a part of another degree program. After acceptance into the program, all courses must be earned at Saint Mary’s University.

At the end of their certificate coursework and in consultation with an adviser, students host an exit assessment wherein they present their evidence of achieving each of the outcomes using their portfolio. The portfolio addresses each of the 13 core program outcomes and the principal outcomes required by the State of Minnesota for licensure. All students must successfully demonstrate quality performance in the competencies in order to receive endorsement from Saint Mary’s University for their Minnesota School Administrative license.

The program is offered in a flexible format to meet the needs of working adults.  Classes are scheduled primarily in the evening and on the weekends during the school year, and at various times in the summer.  Students are requested to remain with their cohort for the duration of the program.  Instruction focuses on applying organizational leadership theories with practical skills needed by school administrators to become leaders of effective learning organizations.  Courses in the program are delivered in blended format, integrating face-to-face classroom meetings and online activities or interactions in a planned, instructively valuable manner.