Teacher Leader Endorsement

Main Content

Elementary Education classroom

Southern Illinois University Carbondale has responded to the increased demand for teachers seeking the state Teacher Leader Endorsement. School districts in the state and across the country have expressed a need for teachers to be more actively involved in decision making and included in more leadership roles. This high-quality, research based, technology-rich program was carefully designed to help meet the needs of school districts as well as individuals who have expressed a desire to become quality teacher leaders. The program will build upon teachers' classroom experience, knowledge, and skills to further develop leadership and mentoring capacity for schools and school districts and to enhance student learning.

The SIUC Teacher Leader Endorsement courses are designed to meet the growing demand for qualified professional teacher leaders by providing individuals with the necessary knowledge, skills, and preparation to successfully help lead schools in teaching our nation's youth. Upon completion, individuals will have the potential to become more actively involved in decision making and leadership roles such as:

  • Curriculum Specialist (e.g., identifying, designing, and implementing curriculum and school and district improvement plans)
  • Instructional Coach (e.g., providing coaching to other teachers and staff on instructional practice and methods)
  • Mentor Teacher (e.g., providing mentoring to new teachers or others in need of assistance)
  • Professional Development Leader and/or Assistant
  • Department Lead or Grade Level Leader
  • Program Coordinator and/or Evaluator
  • Content Specialist (e.g., leading instructional programs in a specific content area)
  • Leader of School Improvement Committees and School Equity Plans
  • Leader of Culturally Responsive Teaching and Community Engagement Committees
  • Teacher Leader Generalist
  • Other areas of responsibility as identified by school districts

Program of study courses for the endorsement include (18 credit hours):

  • CI 508 Systematic Observation and Analysis of Instruction
  • EAHE 503 Building Collaborative Structures and Systems of Professional Practice
  • EAHE 504 School Leadership Through Personnel Administration and Evaluation
  • EAHE 509 School Community Relations and District Policy
  • EAHE 521 Leadership for Equity: Special Populations
  • ERES 530 Program Development & Evaluation

Options to complete this endorsement:

  1. Add on: Add to an existing Masters or Doctoral degree in the field of education (e.g. CI) by completing only the endorsement courses (18 hours).
  2. MSED: Complete 18 hours in Curriculum and Instruction in addition to the endorsement courses for a total of 36 hours and receive an SIUC Master of Science in Education (MSED) degree.
  3. Ph.D.: Complete the SIUC School of Education Ph.D. in the area of Teacher Leadership (minimum of 72 semester hours beyond the master's degree).

You will not want to miss this opportunity to enrich and enhance your professional teaching career by becoming endorsed as a teacher leader. Individuals will develop and hone leadership skills pertinent to school settings while collaboratively investigating best approaches to effective instruction that enhance student learning.

For information, contact Ed Pultorak, Ph.D. at pultorak@siu.edu.