Urban Leadership Courses

EDLU 580 - Leading and Managing Urban Schools
Hours: 3
This course will introduce students to research-based strategies that successful leaders rely on to make a difference at all levels of urban school leadership. Grounded in research, students will be introduced to the multiple challenges that real urban elementary, middle and high school leaders face as well as the catalysts for improvement. Students will explore the application of critical leadership strategies school leaders employ in high-performing urban schools and will be introduced to the tools urban school leaders use to move their schools to higher levels of achievement for all students, especially for those who are low-income, English-language learners, and from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

EDLU 581 - Race, Culture and Equity
Hours: 3
This course is intended to enhance and develop student competencies and understanding of cultural diversity, equity, and social justice in the context of school leadership in urban schools. Students will be provided with historical and cultural contexts for understanding how inequality plays out in schools. Participants will develop skills and confidence to lead equitable schools by learning to recognize structures that perpetuate inequality, address assumptions about how people learn, and create opportunities for ALL children to succeed in urban schools.

EDLU 582 - Research, Policy and Practice in Urban Schools
Hours: 3
This course will focus on the policy and practice in urban schools. Students will be introduced to multiple perspectives on diversity, including the diversity in students’ backgrounds (i.e., culture, language, ability) and classroom and school contexts (e.g., bilingual education, instructional contexts for students with special needs). Students will critically examine the way in which educational policies manifest in daily practice with diverse students in urban schools; bilingual, English language learning, and other language policies, special education policies, discipline, G/T and more. Through this course, participants: (a) learn the research, laws, and court cases related to various policies, (b) see how educational policies are enacted into schools to support students, and (c) make suggestions on continued ways to improve the achievement of diverse students in urban classrooms and schools.

EDLU 583 - Capstone Seminar: Critical Issues in Urban Schools
Hours: 3
This course is the capstone course of the Urban School Leadership Certificate Program that develops candidates for exemplary urban school leadership as evidenced by student knowledge, dispositions, and performance ability to promote the success of all students. Students will be required to integrate and apply core knowledge, research skills, and analysis gained from EDLU 580, EDLU 581, and EDLU 582 to complete a project demonstrating the practical application of knowledge and skills to address a critical issue present in urban schools.