Sarasota County Schools began growing their own leaders in 2003 when they were awarded a grant from Bank of America to fund a new position: Director of Leadership Development. Then-Superintendent Wilma Hamilton anticipated considerable changes in the future due to retirements. She recognized the need for the school district to be more proactive in developing a deliberate career pathway and strong leadership programming for aspiring leaders.

PROGRAM PURPOSE: To provide high-quality training programs to talented, aspiring administrators by using effective pre-service training and on-the-job evaluation and support.

The Leadership Academy is the first step in the journey to becoming an administrator in Sarasota County Schools. Aspiring leaders must apply for and be accepted into the program. To be eligible, candidates must have an Educational Leadership Certification, successfully pass the FELE, and three years of effective teaching experience.

This two-year program is designed to prepare teachers to be successful assistants principals by not only arming them with educational leadership professional development but also going beyond that and providing them with real-world experience and training.

Leadership Academy participants engage in professional development that includes both leadership and technical training that is aligned with state leadership standards and District leadership competencies. The program is designed to prepare future school leaders to successfully manage their time in order to effectively serve as instructional leaders, managers of human capital and organizational/systems leaders.

Applications will be available on the Sarasota County Schools website under Leadership Development. If you have any questions, please email Carol Kay Brown, Director of Professional Learning.