The Arkansas Leadership Academy is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for

School Team Empowerment for the 2021-2022 school year. Space is limited, so please submit your application by October 22, 2021, to ensure priority consideration of your application. Registration will remain open through the virtual ALA REACH Introduction and Overview if space allows for additional applications.

School teams and participants must plan to attend all sessions of School Team Empowerment. As you choose participants for your school team, please remember to check your professional and personal calendars and make sure ALL team members can attend ALL sessions. Session dates are provided below:

              Dates for 2021-2022 School Year

November 3 (virtual) - ALA REACH Introduction and Overview

January 12 and 13 (Arkansas Public School Resource Center, Little Rock)

February 16 (Arkansas Public School Resource Center, Little Rock)

March 30 (Arkansas Public School Resource Center, Little Rock)

To access the School Team Empowerment Application, click on the link below:

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/ad8afae64ae143929bb8b4ee6caeb7cb

Purpose and Design 

The purpose of School Team Empowerment is to support individual and team growth through a differentiated approach to leadership development. School Team Empowerment provides professional learning and coaching opportunities for teams of school administrators, teacher leaders, and district leaders. Sessions focus on developing and nurturing collaborative teams to lead effective instructional practices.

School Team Empowerment will include four (4) onsite team interaction and content delivery sessions paired with a minimum of two (2) virtual team coaching opportunities. This hybrid approach allows teams the opportunity to learn in a traditional structured format while also leveraging virtual technologies to deepen personalization.

Each school team will receive a minimum of two virtual team coaching sessions to personalize the learning and implementation led by an experienced Arkansas leader/practitioner. There is no cost for this virtual team coaching opportunity. Each participating school team will work individually with a leadership coach to determine personalized coaching needs and establish a schedule during the spring semester.

Content and Focus 

Collective Leader Efficacy: Strengthening Instructional Leadership Teams

• Collective leader efficacy (CLE) is a shared conviction among a school leadership team that they can improve the learning environment for all students. Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. provides the research, explains the drivers, and engages participants in the cycle of inquiry that helps leadership teams to develop collective leader efficacy as a leadership team.
• Each participating school team will receive two Virtual Team Coaching sessions to personalize the learning and implementation.
• Each participant will receive a copy of Peter DeWitt’s book “Collective Leader Efficacy: Strengthening Instructional Leadership Teams” as supporting materials and reference.
• Upon completion, participants of School Team Empowerment will be able to
  • Define collective leader efficacy (CLE)
  • Develop an understanding of how leadership teams should function
  • Define certain drivers necessary to develop collective leader efficacy as a team
  • Engage in a cycle of inquiry where they can define a theory of action
  • Develop a program logic model to help them plan actionable steps
• Launch (Nov 3) - ALA REACH Introduction and Overview (insert registration link) - Any educator can join and hear directly from the national subject matter expert, Peter Dewitt, Ed.D., who will be helping school teams grow their understanding and ability to strengthen instructional leadership through collective leader efficacy.

Assembling a School Level Team

• Total number of team members should be 5-6
• Team leader should be the School Principal
• Team members could include Assistant Principal(s), Counselor(s), Instructional Facilitator(s), Instructional Coaches, Interventionists and Teacher Leaders from any content area/grade level. District level team members with job responsibilities that directly support student learning, teachers, and/or principals could also be part of a school level team.
• School teams and participants must plan to attend all sessions of School Team Empowerment. As you choose participants for your school team, remember to check your professional and personal calendars and make sure ALL team members can attend ALL three face-to-face sessions.

Location: All sessions will be conducted at the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) 

APSRC Training Center

Victory Building

1401 West Capitol, Suite 375

Little Rock, AR 72201

(501) 492-4300

Expenses: Schools are responsible for arranging and funding their travel expenses including lodging if necessary and any associated substitute costs for participating team members. There are no registration costs to participating school teams for content and/or supporting materials. A cash-only parking garage is available on 6th Street. The cost to park is $1 per hour or $5 for all day. Participants will need to bring cash if they plan to use the parking garage. Parking receipts will be provided to participants that use the 6th street parking garage for reimbursement. Additionally, there is a limited amount of street parking available at no cost. 

Meals: Time will be built into the schedule for each session to allow participants to leave the site and secure lunch. Participants will be responsible for their own lunch expenses at each session. Snacks will be provided.