To access the OSPI Bulletin, application packet and application checklist for the Washington State Education Leadership Intern Grant on the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) Web site, please click
here or copy and paste this link into your browser —
http://www.awsp.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=State_Funded_Intern_Program&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=9980 — then scroll to the middle of the page.
Completed application packets are due in the AWSP office, 1021 8
th Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501, no later than
4:30 p.m. on March 13, 2009.
Should the State Legislature NOT continue funding the Washington State-Funded Education Leadership Internships for the 2009-2010 biennium, any completed applications will be considered null and void.
This grant provides funds to public school districts for the partial release time of district employees participating in an administrative intern program with an appropriate mentor. It is designed to provide rigorous, authentic training experiences for approved applicants.
Students in university administrative preparation programs applying for release time funding must secure school district approval to serve an administrative internship in that district.
School districts, in screening intern applicants, should take into account the following considerations to align their approval process with the intent of the State Legislature in granting the intern funding.
1. Intern applicant demonstrates an understanding of education reform by applying performance-based instruction and assessment.
2. Intern applicant shows evidence of educational leadership as it applies to the individual’s educational position, i.e., counselor, teacher, librarian, etc.
3. The school district’s acceptance of an intern applicant necessitates the availability of an experienced, quality mentor to coach the intern. The mentor must be committed to allowing and requiring the intern to engage in a wide variety of real-world administrative experiences focused on performance-based educational leadership.
In attempting to focus the intern approval process on the goal of developing principals who have the educational leadership skills to positively impact school-wide student achievement, a number of Washington school districts have implemented formal intern approval processes, including an in-district interview process, as well as requirements and expectations for principal mentors.
The screening and approval process developed by school districts for selecting their administrative interns is a critical link in producing quality administrators for Washington’s schools. In August 2002, the Washington State Board of Education approved the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards as the new state certification standards for principals beginning in 2004.
As administrators of the state-funded intern program, the Washington School Principals Education Foundation, in partnership with the Association of Washington School Principals, is committed to principal leadership development in a standards-based education system. Please call AWSP with questions about the state-funded administrative intern program or contact Don Rash, director of Intern Programs, AWSP, at 1.800.562.6100 or e-mail him at don@awsp.org.