Partnerships
Leadership Development Partnerships
The Department of Organization and School Leadership has created Leadership Development Partnerships with several school districts - PSJA ISD, Mission CISD, Weslaco ISD, Mercedes ISD, Donna ISD, Harlingen CISD, Lyford CISD, and Edinburg CISD - for the purpose of developing and enhancing leadership effectiveness of prospective educational leaders. Weslaco ISD, Mercedes ISD, and Donna ISD have joined to form a Mid-Valley Cohort that serves aspiring leaders from the three districts. Lyford CISD has formed a cohort with Willacy County teachers.
A unique feature of the partnerships is the strong collaboration between the Department of Organization and School Leadership faculty and District personnel in integrating rigorous and relevant field based experiences pertinent to specific district needs. Course assignments are intentionally related to district policies, data, and programs. Completion of coursework leads to a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Texas Principal Certification. All courses are aligned to Texas and national principal standards. In the PSJA ISD Cohort I, 9 graduates graduated in August 2015. Cohort II began in summer 2016, and 9 teachers graduated in August 2017. Mission CISD graduated its first cohort in August 2016 with 9 students. The second cohort graduated in December 2018. The Mid Valley Cohort comprised of Weslaco ISD, Mercedes ISD, and Donna ISD, started a cohort of 23 students in spring 2017 and they graduated in May 2018. Harlingen CISD began a cohort in Summer 2017 with 13 teachers who graduated in Summer 2018. Both Willacy County and Edinburg CISD started a cohort of 11 teachers in January 2019.