Bringing about Positive Change in Districts: The PAGE Leadership Program

“When I am coaching teachers, I can’t NOT look through the lenses of PAGE. I ask challenging questions about how they thought of grouping kids, who had opportunities to be successful in their lessons, who they called on, the language they are using and whether ALL kids could access the task. This work has become a part of my identity.”

I AM NOT THE SAME PERSON

“Leadership is really about culture. The beliefs of the adults in a system have a much larger impact on the outcomes of that system than the technical aspects. Changing culture is immensely emotional and happens incrementally – don’t give up. I have learned content and processes to address the why and how of these shifts. My context has changed. I am not the same person.”

REVOLUTIONIZE OUR DISTRICT

“Adopting the PAGE norms has the potential to completely revolutionize our district. It promises to be a foundation on which to build. The equity strategies we’ve learned will bring voices to our conversations that have not been heard before. This is exciting.”

PAGE is the Science Museum of Minnesota’s flagship program for leaders in K-12 education. Dedicated to supporting diversity, promoting inclusion, increasing access, and achieving equity in educational systems, PAGE is designed to support leaders in bringing about meaningful and lasting institutional change towards greater equity and inclusion within schools and across districts. This transformative program has been developed and refined through multiple awards from the National Science Foundation and focuses on leadership, beliefs, systems, relationships, and complexity.

During PAGE, you will engage with fellow leaders and the facilitation team in critical questions and discussions about leading in complex systems and profound ways of bringing about new behaviors and actions in your context. You and your colleagues will develop skills in systems thinking; practice strategies for facilitating highly productive teamwork and collaboration; and examine the relationships between identity, systems of oppression, power, and status.

The PAGE community of educational leaders is powerful. It includes over 40 districts from five states in the Upper Midwest and collectively capitalizes on the wisdom of urban, rural, and suburban contexts. District leaders include superintendents, assistant superintendents, school board members, curriculum directors, Q-comp coordinators, principals, teacher leaders, and instructional coaches. The PAGE community also includes teams from several State Departments of Education.

PAGE is transformative. As one district leader put it, “My leadership has been shaped by PAGE PD. I lead my faculty meetings using facilitation strategies. I formulate questions to guide staff to identify disparities. My feedback to staff from either room stop-ins or formal observations are to support the lenses of PAGE. Being aware of systems helps me as I facilitate new initiatives in my school.” Another put it this way, “This experience has been life changing and career shaping. It calls me to be something better, someone better than I was before. It has opened my eyes to see things I would have missed.”

Audience

District or school-based leadership teams are eligible to participate in PAGE. Individual team members should 1) have a passion for addressing critical issues of access and equity in education 2) provide professional development, training, coaching, mentoring and/or leadership to K-12 teachers; and 3) have a district- or school-wide perspective. We encourage teams that are culturally, racially, and economically diverse.

For the 11-day Foundations Program (see below) space is limited to 24 participants. Teams are limited to no more than 6 individuals per district or up to 4 individuals per independent school.

If you would like professional development for a group larger than 6, contact us at IDEALCenter@smm.org to learn more about a customized workshop or institute.

The 4-day Veterans Program (see below) is open to leaders who have participated in the PAGE Foundations program or the Nexus Foundations 2015-16 & 2016-17 cohorts. Participants who have been a part of other IDEAL Center programs will be considered on a case by case basis. If you have questions regarding eligibility, please contact us at PAGE@smm.org.

Program Structure

Foundations Program: We will provide approximately 70 hours of professional development across 11 days that are designed specifically for K-12 leadership teams. This meets the requirements for Minnesota professional development clock hours and/or Minnesota Board of School Administrators clock hours.

The 5-day Institute takes place June 28-July 2, 2021, followed by three 2-day Colloquia on October 21-22, 2021; February 17-18, 2022; and April 7-8, 2022. All program days will be conducted virtually from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dates are subject to change as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.

Attending all 11 days is essential.

Cultural Competency Training requirements for relicensure: The MN licensing board requires cultural competency training hours for "all individuals with licenses expiring in 2020 or afterward." Your district can approve the PAGE program to fulfill these cultural competency training hours.

Cost

The cost of the 2021-2022 PAGE Foundations program is $2450 per person. This fee includes 11 days of professional development, labor, and materials

For teams based in Minnesota, funds provided by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment help support the program, bringing the cost of the 2020-2021 PAGE Foundations program down to $1450 per person. This fee includes 11 days of professional development, labor, and materials.

Application Deadline

Applications for the 2021-2022 PAGE Foundations Program are due April 1, 2021. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after this date as space allows.

Next Steps

● Recruit your team of 2-6 individuals and confirm their ability to participate in the program.

● Collectively compose a Team Narrative (suggested 500-word minimum) to the following prompts:

Please identify and describe current equity and inclusion challenges in your district or school.

Describe a vision of how participation in PAGE might inform work on the challenges identified.

Describe the process that was used to identify the proposed PAGE team members.

Include a description of the expectations of each team member to contribute to equity and inclusion efforts in your district or school.

● Compose Individual Narratives (suggested 250 word minimum) to the following prompts:

Describe your role as a leader in your district or school.

(This may include your job responsibilities, a description of the teachers with whom you work, structures in place for professional development in your setting, etc. Please also consider including personal and professional experiences, areas of expertise, and/or particular perspectives you bring to the PAGE community.)

Describe equity and inclusion issues you hope to learn about and work on in PAGE.

Describe the kinds of leadership opportunities you currently have, or hope to have in the future, in which you can apply what you learn in PAGE.

● One application is submitted for your entire team.

Application Deadline

Applications for the 2021-2022 PAGE Foundations Program are due April 1, 2021. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after this date as space allows.

Contact us

Questions about Professional Development? Contact us at PAGE@smm.org or (651) 221-2566.

Our team

Meet the IDEAL Center Team