Program Courses and Curriculum

PASC program candidates complete 21 units of coursework through seven rigorous courses that develop the necessary leadership competencies in vision and culture, equity-centered school improvement, community engagement, adult learning theory, instructional leadership, organizational and systems leadership, and program evaluation. Socially-conscious leadership is emphasized through PASC program sequence of learning experiences.

PASC Program Course Sequence 

Authentic Fieldwork Experiences

The SDCOE PASC program requires each candidate to engage in K-12 fieldwork/ clinical practice throughout the duration of their program. The fieldwork serves as an essential component in preparing candidates to receive their Preliminary Administrative Service Credential and allows for the candidates to apply learned theory from PASC coursework into practice. The candidate will engage in day-to-day and long-term culturally diverse leadership experiences that are aligned to the California Administrators Expectations (CAPE).

California Administrator Performance Assessments (CalAPA)

The CalAPA cycles (3) are authentic leadership learning experiences (performance assessments) that candidates must successfully pass as part of the requirements for credential recommendation to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC).

During the course of the program, CalAPA seminars are offered to support the development of the three CalAPA Leadership cycles. Each session is designed to engage candidates in a collaborative model to connect PASC coursework learning to the CalAPA.

• Cycle 1- Analyzing Data to Inform School Improvement and Promote Equity
• Cycle 2- Facilitating Communities of Practice
• Cycle 3- Supporting Teacher Growth

Each CalAPA requires written narrative, with video requirements in cycles 2 and 3.

CalAPA Video Requirements

• Candidates must be allowed to videotape interactions with faculty, staff, and PK-12 students as noted on the SDCOE/ LEA MOU.
• Candidates must ensure they have school/ district media release forms signed and on file from all individuals  who are recorded as applicable.
• Candidates must follow all applicable video recording policies described in the CalAPA cycle guidance.

Appeal Policy and Candidate Remediation Support

Candidates who wish to appeal their scores may resubmit a Request for a Score Verification to Pearson within 90 calendar days.

All three (3) CalAPA cycles must be successfully completed prior to credential recommendation to the CTC. In the event a candidate does not pass a cycle, the candidate is required to pay the applicable fee and resubmit via the Pearson assessment site.

The SDCOE PASC program director (or other related program personnel) will provide individualized support to guide revisions, based on the CalAPA Score Report, to prepare candidate to resubmit.

Systems Leadership Framework

SDCOE's District and School Improvement unit has developed a unique, integrated curriculum that clearly  defines a systems thinking educational leader. The Systems Leadership Framework is grounded in research on effective educational leadership and is woven together throughout the PASC program curriculum and anchors student learning to ensure a deep understanding of how systems leaders build healthy, equity-centered organizations.

5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning^TM

The 5D^TM Instructional Framework provides a common language for teaching to help school and districts successfully grow high-quality instructional practices. 

Developed from multi-year research at the University of Washington, Center for Educational Leadership, the 5D^TM framework combines vision statements and guiding questions to help practitioners reflect on the core elements of effective teaching.

The cornerstone of our PASC course on instructional leadership, the 5D^TM framework is a researched-based tool to help schools and districts create shared language for teaching and learning, scaffold the development of expertise and grow high-quality instructional practices.

 

SUBDIMENSION	THE VISION	GUIDING QUESTIONS
PURPOSE
Standards	The lesson is based on grade-level standards, is meaningful and relevant beyond the task at hand (e.g., relates to a broader purpose or context such as problem-solving, citizenship, etc.), and helps students learn and apply transferable knowledge and skills. The lesson is intentionally linked to other lessons (previous and future) in support of students meeting standard(s).	How do the standard and learning target relate to content knowledge, habits of thinking in the discipline, transferable skills, and students’ assessed needs as learners (re: language, culture, academic background)? How do the standard and learning target relate to the ongoing work of this classroom? To the intellectual lives of students beyond this classroom? To broader ideals such as problem-solving, citizenship, etc.? What is the learning target(s) of the lesson? How is it meaningful and relevant beyond the specific task/activity? Is the task/activity aligned with the learning target? How does what students are actually engaged in doing help them to achieve the desired outcome(s)? How are the standard(s) and learning target communicated and made accessible to all students? How do students communicate their understanding about what they are learning and why they are learning it? How does the learning target clearly communicate what students will know and be able to do as a result of the lesson? What will be acceptable evidence of student learning? How do teaching point(s) support the learning needs of individual students in meeting the learning target(s)?
Learning Target and Teaching Points	The learning target is clearly articulated, linked to standards, embedded in instruction, and understood by students. The learning target is measurable. The criteria for success are clear to students and the performance tasks provide evidence that students are able to understand and apply learning in context. The teaching points are based on knowledge of students’ learning needs (academic background, life experiences, culture and language) in relation to the learning target(s).
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Intellectual Work	Students’ classroom work embodies substantive intellectual engagement (reading, thinking, writing, problem-solving and meaning-making). Students take ownership of their learning to develop, test and refine their thinking.	What is the frequency of teacher talk, teacher-initiated questions, student-initiated questions, student-to-student interaction, student presentation of work, etc.? What does student talk reveal about the nature of students’ thinking? Where is the locus of control over learning in the classroom? What evidence do you observe of student engagement in intellectual, academic work? What is the nature of that work? In what ways is work designed to promote sustained interest (e.g. creates value for students, generates student questions, promotes student ownership of material, etc.)? What is the level and quality of the intellectual work in which students are engaged (e.g. factual recall, procedure, inference, analysis, meta-cognition)? How are student identities and experiences surfaced and valued in the classroom to provide multiple ways of understanding and experiencing academic content? What specific strategies and structures are in place to facilitate participation and meaning-making by all students (e.g. small group work, partner talk, writing, etc.)? Do all students have access to participation in the work of the group? Why/why not? How is participation distributed? What questions, statements, and actions does the teacher use to encourage students to share their thinking with one another, to build on one another’s ideas, and to assess their understanding of one another’s ideas?
Engagement Strategies	Engagement strategies capitalize on and build upon students’ academic background, life experiences, culture and language to support rigorous and culturally relevant learning. Engagement strategies encourage equitable and purposeful student participation and ensure that all students have access to, and are expected to participate in, learning.
Talk	Student talk reflects discipline-specific habits of thinking and ways of communicating. Student talk embodies substantive and intellectual thinking.

View Downloadable PDF of 5D^TM Framework