5 credits

Research on effective schools provides guidance on the most productive ways to organize time, people, money, technology, and other resources. To use these resources most effectively, leaders need to have a strategy that defines the most important priorities, the overall educational design, and the organizational structures that best match the necessary goals for improvement. Education professionals will study and interpret budget documents as they relate to the district at large and then to their portion of the budget as a school. Education leaders will research about writing and seeking grants to enhance a school's or district's options to improve student learning. Effective leaders need to be able to link whole-school strategic plans to effective instructional practices and improved use of time and money. Education leaders must focus on school improvement, improving teaching quality, and organizing and allocating staff and other resources in the most effective way to continuously improve student performance.