Mission Statement
Like the HTH K-12 schools, the HTH GSE is committed to providing its students with learning experiences that are personalized, authentic, and relevant. Our graduate students create personal learning plans, pursue a project-based curriculum, explore their own questions through action research and other forms of inquiry, and develop digital portfolios to demonstrate their learning. HTH GSE programs lead with practice and provide ample opportunities for students to apply theory to real-world teaching and learning contexts. Just as we expect surgeons to have hands-on experience in their residencies, HTH GSE provides its graduate students with hands-on, practical experience in the real world of effective, innovative schools.
The Program
The HTH GSE Educational Leadership Academy focuses on developing educational teams as change agents. This one-year hybrid program blends face-to-face residencies at High Tech High in San Diego, partnerships with HTH critical friends, and on-line learning. Participants design their own personal learning plan and execute a Leadership Project that addresses an authentic need or issue at their home schools.
Face to Face: Participants attend customized residencies in October, January and June. During these residencies participants, attend workshops led by key faculty, visit classrooms, meet with their online group, and engage in project planning/tuning activities with their team members.
Online: In online forums and in consultation with HTH critical friends, participants explore the theory and craft knowledge related to issues that arise in their own practice. Possible topics may include: inclusive classrooms, instructional design, project-based learning, equity and diversity, and leading for school change. Participants will also join a smaller seminar with colleagues of a similar role. These seminars will meet monthly online, facilitated by an experienced HTH educator with a similar role
"I have been pushed. That is my first thought when asked to describe my experience at HTH. I have been forced to reflect on my practice, put my ideas into action and then to document what has occurred. Further, I have gained an ever increasing circle of what I call, "professional friends." From my critical friend to working more closely with colleagues here at BSS, I am collaborating, sharing my work and therefore, hopefully, improving my practice." -Tim Sommerville, Bishop Strachan School, Canada
"[The] High Tech High School Leadership Program was crucial in my personal development of confidence, networking and community building. My journey with the school is far from over, and my most important discovery was the realization that I have the power to co-create spaces for inspiration wherever I am."- Karen Harris, Holualoa Elementary, Hawaii