Cahn Leadership Lab
Knowing that over 50% of newly hired principals leave the profession by years 3 and 4, in 2023, we launched our new program for those early career principals.
Designed for principals who are positively impacting their school, and seeking to improve their practice. This program offers a learning community experience with other dynamic leaders who are at the same critical stages in their tenure. This program will provide much needed coaching to expand their thinking and prepare them to lead large change in their communities.
Equipping three to four year principals to improve their skills through collaborative leadership and change agency.
Nominations for 2025 Cohort Closed
Curriculum
CONTENT ALIGNMENT
Our content is aligned with our mission, in a way that differentiates us from other leadership programs:
1. Our focus is on principals who function at a high capacity. Very few school improvement programs specify preference for successful principals.
2. Our approach to building capacity by having the practitioners engage their leadership teams in the work is unmatched in any other program. Building this component of our program ensures that aspiring leaders are receiving advanced learning and builds a larger alumni pipeline as they secure leadership positions.
3. Developing a network of strong principals who build strong leadership teams increases the likelihood that the most successful leaders will remain in their roles longer. Our national approach to building a network of leaders is unmatched by any other program.
4. Engaging school leaders with experiences from both Teachers College Faculty and distinguished Cahn alumni will provide our participants with a variety of leadership perspectives in the advanced professional development we offer.
5. Our Alumni Leadership Coach model is unique compared to other other leadership programs This model allows space for the principals to be vulnerable and honest. A dedicated leadership coach can provide honest feedback, recognize the value of the leader they are coaching and engage them in the knowledge they gain while in our program: working with adults, providing feedback and offering mentorship.
There are four convenings in the Cahn Leadership Lab. The convenings begin with an excursion to the Civil Rights Museum and Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, AL, where we look at change that has been implemented and led by leaders with hope and bravery. Practitioners are tasked with assessing their community for areas of needed change.
Convenings
They participate in learning sessions on: Knowing yourself as a leader, Design Thinking and Planning, Family & Community Engagement, and Leading Change with feedback, branding/mission & vision. At each convening, practitioners visit schools of alumni principals from the Distinguished Program and those principals share the story of a strong change and practice they have led. They serve as an opportunity for the practitioners to learn from successful leaders and share with and learn from each other.