LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCES EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTORS SELECTED FOR LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

Aug 23, 2021
                                Twenty-four educators named to third cohort of Louisiana Early Leaders Academy

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is providing twenty-four early childhood directors from across the state with opportunities to enhance their leadership skills and boost their impact on the state’s youngest learners. The Louisiana Early Leaders Academy (LELA) was created to strengthen leaders in the field, expanding access to quality early childhood care and education. 

View a list of the participating leaders by school system.

Participating educators, known as fellows, were selected through a competitive application process. This 10-month, executive-level program is for directors of highly rated, publicly funded early learning centers. These directors are aiming for excellence in the daily leadership of their early learning centers. They must be certified as reliable in Louisiana’s classroom observation tool. Fellows will articulate their vision for personal and professional growth while in the Academy.

LELA, which holds its first training in July, will offer fellows: 

  • Virtual and in-person training, including opportunities to meet national and state leaders in early childhood education;
  • One-on-one coaching, to support areas of need; and
  • Peer learning communities to enhance instructional leadership and quality in early learning programs. 

Fellows will learn about managing systems changes, building strong teams, and improving program operations, among other content areas. In addition to this new cohort, there are 82 alums from previous Academy cohorts statewide.

For more information, please contact Emmy.Odwyer@la.gov.

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