School Building Leadership - Advanced Certificate

This accelerated educational leadership program is ideal for students who are preparing to earn their New York State School Building Leader (SBL) certification and already have a master’s degree.

Why Choose School Building Leadership?

This accelerated program includes eight courses and can be completed in only four semesters. The educational leadership program is designed to help professionals who already have a master’s degree meet the New York State (NYS) certification eligibility requirements. If your goal is to build your skills as school building leader, this program is for you.

Most courses are offered during the late afternoon and evenings, typically between 4:30 and 8:30 p.m., to accommodate the schedules of working professionals.

The Leadership Experience

The advanced certificate in school building leadership is delivered in a highly structured, hybrid format that includes traditional face-to-face classes and independent online coursework. The educational leadership program culminates with a six-credit internship, amounting to 400 hours of leadership experience that can be done in the home school – elementary or secondary.

The school building leadership program is infused with experiential and collaborative learning, action research, and technology. The curriculum makes use of leadership activities including case studies, simulation, and role-play.

Core topics include:

Leadership styles and decision making models and their implications.
Data sources for determining school, personnel and program effectiveness.
Legal issues concerned with the rights of students, parents, and professional personnel.

What Will You Learn?

You will develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create a supportive and progressive environment. As an educational leadership participant, you will:

Gain confidence as an administrator, supervisor and educator.
Develop your self-leadership and collaborative skills.
Showcase learning in periodic performance reviews and completion of course and program requirements.
Meet eligibility requirements to become qualified through New York State (NYS) certification.

See the Degree Requirements

Admissions Requirements

Review the requirements and application process for this graduate program.

Careers in Advanced Leadership Studies
Going to graduate school for leadership? Explore the three paths to certification:
- Option 1: M.S. Ed. in School Building Leadership (33 credits)
- Option 2: Advanced Certificate in School Building Leadership (24 credits)
- Option 3: Advanced Certificate in School District Leadership (11 credits)

What Will You Do?

The graduate program in school building leadership prepares school building leaders for these and other positions:

Assistant principals, teacher leaders, staff developers
Principals, headmasters, heads of school, school administrators
Charter school leaders, department chairs
Special education directors and physical education coordinators
Grade level, subject area, technology coordinators

Our graduates have interned and worked at:

In this program I especially appreciated that the professors and staff were experienced practitioners of their craft. I was able to learn firsthand from former and current superintendents and district administrators, as well as principals and experts in their specific fields in education. The wealth of knowledge they were able to share was invaluable to my success in my current role.

Jeff Sidoti ’11, ’21 , Associate Principal, St. Raymond High School for Boys