Thanks to the Santa Barbara County Education Office’s Educational Leadership Center, 18 local educators are now qualified to work as California school administrators. In its third year, the state-approved Preliminary Administrative Services Credential, or PASC, program has been training educators to become highly qualified administrators and teacher leaders.

Last summer, 18 candidates completed the program, which offers 24 university credits. For 12 additional credits, the PASC program includes the option to earn a master’s degree from California Lutheran University. In May, 11 program graduates earned their master’s degrees from CLU. By the end of August, nine more aspiring administrators will be credentialed and eligible to join the administrative ranks.

By successfully completing the year-long PASC program, these educators have taken the next step in advancing their professional careers as teacher leaders or California school administrators.
The following teachers have completed the SBCEO administrative credential program: Robert Bergan II, Lodene Blair, Ginger Gelhaus Shea, Kirsten Grobien-Escobedo, Julie Kozel, Kurt Schultz and Ryan Sportel.

The following teachers have completed both their SBCEO administrative credential and a master’s degree from CLU: Heather Anderson, Tia Blickley, Barbara Boyd, Mary Ellen Brown, Jamie Burns, Kathleen Lester, Celeste Pico, Nancy Stevens, Sarah Suden Kono, Kate Tibbetts and Abby Vasquez.

“The recent announcements of administrator retirements coupled with the looming retirement of baby-boomer administrators certainly suggests the need for a larger local pool of highly trained administrators,” said county schools Superintendent Bill Cirone, whose office coordinates the program.

A survey commissioned by the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals a few years ago showed that “approximately half of the school districts surveyed reported a shortage in the labor pool for K-12 principal positions they were trying to fill that year,” regardless of the schools’ grade levels and whether they were rural, suburban or urban schools. NAESP members responding to a one-question survey in 2002 indicated that 66 percent will retire in the next six to ten years.

“Having a highly qualified, effective administrator, with the skills and resources to step into a school and navigate through day-to-day management issues and provide effective instructional leadership is crucial to a school’s success,” Cirone explained. “The SBCEO credential program is focused on effectively preparing leaders to meet these challenges”

Enrollment for fall 2008 closes Sept. 1. Click here for more information about the SBCEO credential program or call 805.964.4710 x5219.

Wendy Shelton is the Santa Barbara County Education Office‘s communication director.