FAQs for Potential Candidates
Who is eligible to participate in this program?
Can more than one candidate in my school participate?
What will the LEAP training include?
What are the dates of the summer intensive training?
What if I am on a 10-month assistant principal contract? Will I be compensated for my time during the summer intensive?
What is the structure of the school year weekly LEAP sessions? If I am currently a teacher, will I lose significant instructional time with my students?
What are some of the “job-embedded” experiences in LEAP?
I already have my SBL. Why should I be interested in LEAP?
Am I paid per-session to attend the summer intensive program and LEAP weekly classes during the academic year?
What is the role of my mentor principal?
Am I guaranteed a principal position after completing LEAP?
FAQs for Mentor Principals
What are the requirements to serve as a mentor principal in LEAP?
As a mentor principal, how will I personally benefit from participating in the program?
How will my school benefit from participating in the program?
What type of training and support will I receive as a LEAP mentor principal?
What will my role be as a LEAP mentor principal?
Will I receive a stipend for my involvement in this work?
Can more than one candidate in my school participate in LEAP?
Who in my school might be eligible to participate in LEAP?
Will LEAP lead to school building leader (SBL) certification?
Why would candidates who already have their SBL be interested in LEAP?
What are the dates of the summer training intensive?
What if I need to call upon my LEAP apprentice during the summer to help plan the school year?
When will I be notified if there are other activities during the school year that my LEAP apprentice must attend during the school day?
What is the structure of the school year LEAP sessions?
Will teachers lose significant instructional time?
What are some of the “job-embedded” experiences in LEAP?
FAQs for Potential Candidates
Who is eligible to participate in this program? Potential participants may currently serve in a variety of roles including, but not limited to: teacher, lead teacher, coach, special education coordinator, assistant principal, and others. Other qualifications that a participant must have in order to apply:
• At least three full years of teaching experience
• Must have experience in a leadership position in school
• Must have a Masters Degree
• Must have a principal in home school who has been in his/her position (serving as principal) for
at least four years
• Current principal at applicant's home school must be willing to serve as his/her LEAP mentor
Can more than one candidate in my school participate? Yes, up to two candidates per school may participate in LEAP at the same time. The ability to have multiple apprentices depends upon 1) the principal’s capacity to actively mentor more than one candidate and 2) each candidate’s readiness for the program as measured by the selection process. It is also possible for a school to have one LEAP apprentice and one aspiring principal (through the Aspiring Principal Program at the NYC Leadership Academy).
What will the LEAP training include? This rigorous leadership development program includes three (3) key phases:
• A 6-week full-time summer intensive program to gain a foundation in key knowledge and skills
• Additional training during the school year through weekly LEAP class sessions
• Job-embedded leadership responsibilities in your school (e.g., lead an inquiry team, observe and provide feedback to teachers)
What are the dates of the summer intensive training? The summer intensive program will start the day after the July 4th holiday (assuming this is not a Saturday or Sunday) and continue for 6 full weeks. The summer intensive program runs Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. Attendance is mandatory for the entire summer intensive program- no exceptions.
What if I am on a 10-month assistant principal contract? Will I be compensated for my time during the summer intensive? Yes, participants on a 10-month AP contract will be compensated at per session rates during the summer intensive (when per session is available).
What is the structure of LEAP's weekly class sessions during the school year?
During the school year, LEAP weekly class sessions will mostly be conducted during afternoons and evenings to preserve instructional time during the school day. Class sessions will be held weekly, and will provide opportunities for collaboration with other apprentices in the cohort. School year LEAP sessions will sometimes be held with the full cohort and other times be held in smaller groups (e.g., other participants in the same cluster, other participants in the same school level).
If I am currently a teacher, will I lose significant instructional time with my students? No. The program is structured so that apprentices can receive development through job-embedded experiences that they take on as part of their current role (e.g., serving on the school inquiry team). School year sessions will take place one afternoon/evening every week (or every other week, generally 4-7pm), outside of your regular time with your students. However, we do ask your mentor principal to reduce your teaching load by 2/5 so that you have time to take part in other leadership duties during the day in your school building.
What are some of the “job-embedded” experiences in LEAP? Your LEAP mentor principal and LEAP Faculty will work with you to identify your key growth areas and design a customized set of learning experiences to meet your individual needs according to the NYC DOE School Leadership Competencies.
Apprentices will:
• Serve on a school inquiry team, providing an opportunity to work with a team of teachers to deeply analyze data, identify trends and challenges, and create and implement action plans to address identified challenges
• Regularly observe and provide feedback to teachers at different career stages and levels of effectiveness
• Publicly communicate with all members of the school community to prepare for a principal role
In addition to the above, sample learning experiences for LEAP apprentices may include, but are not limited to:
• Play a leadership role in the School Quality Review process
• Build a Professional Learning Community and/or design and lead professional development experiences based on staff needs
• Lead difficult/challenging conversations
• Disaggregate data, identify trends, set specific learning goals for subsets of students, and present data to different stakeholders (e.g., team of teachers, full faculty, families, community members)
• Lead a school-wide culture change initiative to get all staff to welcome and use data in planning and decision-making
• Lead a team in using standards to design internal assessments and align curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments
• Lead school-wide scheduling and programming (instructional and professional development) efforts
• Lead an initiative to increase family and/or community engagement
• Lead orientation of new staff
• Participate in budget planning and strategy, ensuring alignment of budget and resources to student learning priorities
I already have my SBL. Why should I be interested in LEAP? Across the city, many candidates who already hold their SBL apply to additional leadership development programs to further develop their skills. The unique job-embedded nature of the program allows you to apply theory to practice, practice new skills in an authentic setting, and get real-time feedback from your mentor principal, Instructional Facilitator and colleagues. This program will also be deeply embedded in the NYC DOE specific context, allowing you to gain deep familiarity and experience with the competencies and tools required to be successful in NYC schools.
Am I paid per-session to attend the summer intensive program and LEAP weekly classes during the academic year? In the past, LEAP participants have been able to receive per session for some of the LEAP events or learning phases. However, due to budget constraints, per session cannot be guaranteed each year. It will be re-considered every program year, depending on the NYC DOE Budget.
What is the role of my mentor principal? Mentor principals play a critical role in LEAP. Your mentor principal will provide ongoing guidance and mentorship to you for the full academic year. He/she will engage you in school leadership decisions and initiatives, meet regularly with you, provide ongoing feedback to you, support your learning and development needs, and complete evaluations on your performance. Your mentor principal will also work with your assigned LEAP Faculty to identify your growth areas, shape job-embedded learning experiences to develop your proficiency in these areas, and provide feedback to LEAP Faculty on your progress.
Am I guaranteed a principal position after completing LEAP? Though no one can be guaranteed a principal position (
this is true for all school leadership programs), the program is designed to help prepare you to be a principal. All apprentices will apply to the Principal Candidate Pool during the course of the program. This is standard procedure for anyone looking to secure a principalship in NYC. Acceptance into this pool is based upon demonstration of the five NYC DOE School Leadership Competencies. Once in the pool, candidates can apply for specific school openings and will enjoy the advocacy of their cluster. The LEAP curriculum is grounded in the same School Leadership Competencies which drive the pool recruitment, selection and development process. Furthermore, being in LEAP also provides you with the unique ability to network with other principals, network leaders and NYC DOE central staff.
FAQs for Mentor Principals
What are the requirements to become a mentor principal in LEAP?
In order to serve as a mentor principal in LEAP, you are required to:
• Be a principal for at least four years
• Currently run a school that has received an A or B grade on progress report scores in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 or currently run a school that has quality review scores for 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 as either well-developed or proficient
As a mentor principal, how will I personally benefit from participating in the program? Mentor principals will enjoy many benefits from participating in LEAP. These include, but are not limited to:
• Professional development – Attend specific trainings and receive individualized support to help you become even more effective in providing feedback and developing leadership capacity amongst your staff. These experiences are also great training for principals who aspire to become network leaders, or seek other positions which require leadership development and mentoring. (
see more on specific training below)
• Site visits – Receive individualized support through school site visits by an experienced LEAP Faculty
• School-based support – As your LEAP apprentice goes through the program, he/she will bring back new knowledge, resources and skills and will be ready to apply this information to help you move your school’s agenda forward
• Network and NYC DOE central office support- You will receive help in cultivating and developing talent within your school
How will my school benefit from participating in the program?
Your school will benefit in the following ways:
• Develop a pipeline of future leaders and help your staff develop proficiency in the NYC DOE School Leadership Competencies
• Build your school’s capacity by retaining and developing high-potential talent
• Engage LEAP participants as committed partners who can play leadership roles in advancing your school’s goals – LEAP participants may provide critical leadership on existing initiatives or help lead new initiatives to support school improvement efforts
• Connect more deeply with other schools in your cluster – LEAP will provide a unique opportunity for you or your LEAP apprentice to partner with and learn from other schools within your cluster
What type of training and support will I receive as a LEAP mentor principal?
All LEAP mentor principals will participate in:
• One retreat for both the mentee and mentor (WINTER), and two day-long retreats only for mentors (FALL & SPRING) to deepen both coaching skills and mentoring relationships with the LEAP apprentices,
• Monthly school-based training from LEAP Faculty, and
• Several additional professional development opportunities based on specific learning needs that arise from your mentoring relationship(s).
Trainings will focus on skill development on (a) how to make your tacit leadership knowledge and skills explicit and therefore teachable and (b) how to craft appropriate learning opportunities that accelerate your apprentice’s learning of the skills and knowledge necessary for successful school leadership.
Specifically, the trainings will cover protocols for giving feedback to mentees and use of the NYC DOE School Leadership Competencies to (a) assess the learning needs of the program participants, (b) define targeted learning opportunities, and (c) assess participants’ progress toward the performance standards. Trainings will provide opportunities for you to collaborate with colleagues on strategies for structuring job-embedded learning opportunities with clear feedback for growth.
What will my role be as a LEAP mentor principal?
As a LEAP mentor principal, you will play a critical role in LEAP. You will provide ongoing guidance and mentorship to the LEAP apprentice(s) in your school for a full school year. You will engage participants in school leadership decisions and initiatives, meet regularly with each apprentice, provide ongoing feedback to apprentices, support participants’ learning and development needs, and complete evaluations on apprentices’ performance (twice a year). You will work with the assigned LEAP Faculty (to your cluster) to identify growth areas for apprentices and shape job-embedded learning experiences to develop proficiencies in these areas. You also will provide feedback to LEAP Faculty on the progress of LEAP apprentices.
Will I receive a stipend for my involvement in this work? Yes, you will be eligible to receive a $1250 stipend per LEAP apprentice that you mentor for complete academic year.
Can more than one candidate in my school participate in LEAP?
Yes, you may involve up to two candidates per school. The ability to have multiple apprentices depends upon 1) your capacity to actively mentor more than one candidate and 2) each candidate’s readiness for the program as measured by the selection process. It is also possible for a school to have 1 LEAP apprentice and 1 aspiring principal (through APP- NYC Leadership Academy).
Who in my school might be eligible to participate in LEAP?
Identify participants who you believe will be ready for the principalship with a year of intensive training and support through this program. Potential participants may currently serve in a variety of roles including, but not limited to: teacher, lead teacher, coach, special education coordinator, assistant principal, and others. Other requirements for an apprentice:
• At least three full years of teaching experience
• Must have experience in a leadership position in school
• Must have a Masters Degree
• No negative charges on their DOE record
Will LEAP lead to a school building leader (SBL) certification? LEAP is an alternative pathway to certification. When you enter LEAP, you will have to disclose whether you have an SBL or not. If you do not have one, you will get one by joining and completing SBL requirements while a part of LEAP.
Why would candidates who already have their SBL be interested in LEAP? Across the city, many candidates who already hold their SBL apply to additional leadership development programs to further develop their skills. LEAP provides a unique opportunity for candidates to apply lessons learned to real life. The job-embedded nature of the program allows candidates to apply theory to practice, practice new skills in an authentic setting, and get real-time feedback from their mentor principal and colleagues. This program will also be deeply ground in the NYC DOE-specific context, positioning apprentices to successfully gain deep familiarity and experience with the competencies and tools required to be successful in NYC schools.
What are the dates of the summer training intensive? The summer intensive will start the week after the July 4th holiday and continue for 6 full weeks. The summer intensive program runs Monday through Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. Attendance is mandatory for the entire summer intensive. No exceptions for apprentices.
What if I need to call upon my LEAP apprentice during the summer to help plan the school year?
We ask that while your staff member is engaged in summer intensive, you let him/her focus on their preparation work for LEAP. Summer Intensive is a very time consuming and challenging time for all apprentices because they are attending classes form 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, then after class, they are assigned work for the following day.
When will I be notified if there are other LEAP activities during the school year that my LEAP apprentice must attend during the school day?
We will let all mentor principals know all the dates that their LEAP apprentice must be out of the school building for at the beginning of the academic year. Although some dates do change due to scheduling conflicts, we will do our best to give you all the information ahead of time.
What is the structure of the weekly LEAP sessions during the school year? Sessions during the school year will mostly be conducted during afternoons and evenings to preserve instructional time during the school day. They will be held weekly and will provide opportunities for collaboration with other apprentices in the cohort. School year sessions will sometimes be held with the full cohort and other times will be held in smaller groups (e.g., other participants in the same cluster, other participants in the same school level, etc.).
Will teachers lose significant instructional time? No. The program is structured so that apprentices can receive development through job-embedded experiences that they take on as part of their current role (ex: serving on the school inquiry team), and school year sessions will take place one afternoon/evening every week (or every other week).
What are some of the “job-embedded” experiences in LEAP?
Mentor principals and Instructional Facilitators will work with participants to identify key growth areas and design a customized set of learning experiences to meet the needs of each LEAP apprentice according to the NYC DOE School Leadership Competencies.
All apprentices will:
• Serve on a school inquiry team, providing an opportunity to work with a team of teachers to deeply analyze data, identify trends and challenges, and create and implement action plans to address identified challenges
• Regularly observe and provide feedback to teachers at different career stages and levels of effectiveness
• Publicly communicate with all members of the school community to prepare for a principal role
In addition to the above, sample learning experiences for LEAP apprentices may include, but are not limited to: • Play a leadership role in the School Quality Review process
• Build a Professional Learning Community and/or design and lead professional development experiences based on staff needs
• Lead difficult/challenging conversations
• Disaggregate data, identify trends, set specific learning goals for subsets of students, and present data to different stakeholders (e.g., team of teachers, full faculty, families, community members)
• Lead a school-wide culture change initiative to get all staff to welcome and use data in planning and decision-making
• Lead a team in using standards to design internal assessments and aligning curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments
• Lead school-wide scheduling and programming (instructional and professional development) efforts
• Lead an initiative to increase family and/or community engagement
• Lead orientation of new staff
• Participate in budget planning and strategy, ensuring alignment of budget and resources to student learning priorities