Social Justice Teacher Leadership

Leading School Reform

Teacher leaders are consistently named as key players in school transformation efforts and yet often are not provided with targeted support in their development.

To that end, UC Berkeley’s Leadership Programs has spent the past few years increasing the variety of early-career courses and services offered to support teacher leaders, including the Social Justice Teacher Leadership program, which launched this past year.

We offer two distinct pathways for engagement: Teacher leaders can opt to take individual modules for their own professional learning, or they can opt to complete the entire certificate program. Teacher leaders can complete the certificate in one year or across multiple years, allowing flexibility for working adults to manage the program to best fit their needs. The module variety allows teachers to customize the program. Modules include social justice teacher leadership, data-informed decision-making, equity-centered instructional coaching, designing professional learning, exploring identity in teacher leadership, facilitation of adult learners, and equity-centered scheduling. In this first year, we had 74 teacher-leader participants representing 57 schools across the Bay Area. All of the participants were supported by the 21CSLA State Center or 21CSLA Alameda and Sonoma Regional Academies.

For more information about the Social Justice Teacher Leadership program, visit bse.berkeley.edu/leadership/teacher-leadership or contact bse-teacherleaders@berkeley.edu.

“ UC Berkeley’s teacher leadership courses have helped me develop a reserve of practices grounded in equity and research. Not only have these experiences directly impacted my performance in leadership roles, but they have also introduced me to a supportive network of colleagues who stimulate deeper reflection.”

Participant

21CSLA State Center

Supporting California’s Equity Leaders

The 21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) is dedicated to the professional learning and support of California’s teacher, site, and school district leaders. Headquartered at UC Berkeley School of Education, 21CSLA is led in partnership with UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, California Subject Matter Project, and seven Regional Academies throughout the state. 21CSLA is one of many branches of the California Department of Education State System of Support.

Now in the final year of Cohort 1 funding, the State Center has set a course for future sustainability and expansion. To date, we’ve produced 14 research-practice webinars, featuring California scholars and leaders from across the state. They have discussed pressing issues for the field, including college access for incarcerated youth, Universal Transitional Kindergarten leadership, pandemic innovations, digital learning, and improvement science. We’ve collaborated with scholars on multi-year research projects related to transformational leadership, resiliency, actions for equity, and more. And we’ve held statewide gatherings to develop cohesive, high-impact, and transformational strategies.

For more information about 21CSLA, visit 21cslacenter.berkeley.edu or contact Associate Director Kim Wallace at kimwallace@berkeley.edu.

Leaders for equity in early learning work in partnership with communities and families to ensure rich, inclusive, and joyous early learning environments where all students—especially those who are systemically marginalized and historically underserved—can thrive.

21CSLA Universal Transitional Kindergarten Leadership Initiative

This year, the 21CSLA State Center was expanded to incorporate an additional charge from California’s leadership: Design and implement professional learning to support Governor Gavin Newsom’s Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) expansion.

The expansion has two main components:

1. Develop a UTK train-the-trainer model to provide equity-centered professional learning throughout the state at no cost to participants and

2. Create a UTK Leadership Certificate program. In partnership with Berkeley Extension, the UTK Leadership Certificate program is an opportunity for candidates in Preliminary Administrative Services Credential programs to undertake specialized coursework that focuses on instructional leadership issues for preschool–third grade.

By enabling leaders to lead for equity, we can ensure that highquality pre-kindergarten opportunities are accessible to all.

For more information about the UTK Leadership Initiative, visit 21cslacenter.berkeley.edu/universal-transitional-kindergartenleadership-initiative or contact Coordinator Aija Simmons at aija.simmons@berkeley.edu.