Dr. Sarah Tanner-Anderson, Graduate Program Director
434.395.4872, tannerandersonsl@longwood.edu
The Education master’s degree program with a concentration in Educational Leadershp is designed for teachers who hold a valid teaching license and wish to pursue a career in school administration and supervision. Students are provided preparation for administrative and/or supervisory roles in today’s public and private schools, school divisions, and educational organizations. A three-credit internship - three one-credit semesters for a total of 320 clock hours - is scheduled during the first three semesters of program study; a two-credit capstone research project is conducted in the fourth semester; and a one-credit portfolio must be completed in the final semester. Students wishing to obtain the Administrative and Supervision PreK-12 endorsement must take the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) and have taught for a minimum of three years before applying to the Virginia Department of Education for the endorsement. Students should take the SLLA no earlier than the final semester in the program and have scores sent to Longwood University.
Admission
Applicants to this program must possess a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university and hold at least a valid Virginia Collegiate Professional License or equivalent from another state at the time of admission to the program.
In addition to the above, applicants must have:
- a 2.75 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
- a minimum of two recommendations
- a 500-word personal essay
- a résumé
- official transcripts of the bachelor’s degree and any course work completed after that degree.
Clinical Experience
Students in the educational leadership program enroll in EDUC 690 - Internship in Educational Leadership PreK-12. Placements are coordinated by the graduate program director and students enrolled complete a total of 320 clock hours split equally between an elementary, middle and secondary school supervised by Longwood program faculty.
Grading is pass (P) / satisfactory progress (SP) / not pass (NP) and will not be used in calculating the grade point average. A grade of incomplete (I) may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor ONLY if all field clock hours have been successfully completed. All students must be enrolled in a minimum of one (1) credit hour of the applicable field experience to be completing any clock hours of placement in the field in order to be in compliance with insurance regulations per the Attorney General’s office. Students cannot begin a placement prior to registering for the required course in the semester they wish to begin observing all applicable deadlines.
Professional Portfolio
All students in the educational leadership program complete EDUC 691 - Educational Leadership Portfolio, as the culminating experience and exit requirement for the program. Students are scaffolded by their advisor throughout the program regarding professional portfolio requirements. The portfolio is electronic. Grading is Pass/Not Pass. A grade of incomplete (I) may not be assigned. A student who earns a Not Pass is allowed to retake EDUC 691 once. Should the student earn a second Not Pass, the student will be dismissed from the graduate program.
General Requirements: Development of a portfolio provides each candidate opportunities for reflection and self-evaluation, which documents their mastery of program standards and highlights their growth throughout the program.
Administrative procedures for culmination of the process:
- student registers for EDUC 691 - Educational Leadership Portfolio;
- portfolio will be reviewed and evaluated by program faculty members;
- candidate will present a synopsis of the Professional Portfolio to the faculty committee and his/her program peers on a date selected within the semester enrolled in EDUC 691 ; and
- instructor will record the collaborated grade of P/NP for the course.
