Application Tips: Regional Principal Leadership Academy

Thank you for your interest in Houston A+ Challenge’s Regional Principal Leadership Academy.

The information below is meant to provide you with some helpful tips 1.) for creating a successful application, and 2.) for troubleshooting technical issues you may have with our online application.

Before You Begin
Our online application is powered by SchoolSpring. To ensure that you receive important emails from Houston A+ Challenge regarding your application status, please add support@schoolspring.com and/or the domain @schoolspring.com to your address book, safe list, or approved senders list.

Application Checklist
Filling out your online application will be easier if, before you begin, you have gathered all of the necessary information and documents. The required sections in our online application include:

• Education history, including degrees, GPAs, enrollment and graduation dates;
• Relevant work experience, including job descriptions, dates of employment, supervisor names and reasons for leaving;
• Test scores, (optional) including TECAT and other state and national exams;
• Certifications, including expiration dates;
• Languages, including proficiency levels;
• References, including contact information for current supervisor and two other people who know you well -- preferably former instructors, employers or colleagues;
• Three essays, which respond to the following statements in a maximum of 500 words (each):
  
  1.) Please provide a statement of your intent to apply for the Regional Principal Leadership Academy. Please include why you want to lead an urban school and specific qualifications that make you a strong candidate.
  
  2.) Describe an experience when you led a team of adults to accomplish a common goal. Your essay must include:
   

The team’s goal and the outcome with respect to the goal

How you worked with and engaged the team

How you and/or the team made decisions

The team dynamics and how that impacted your progress

How you held others accountable to reach the goal

What you learned from this experience and, as a result, what you have done or would do differently in the future

3.) Describe a time when you experienced a professional setback or failure. (Please do not use a personal or college-related setback.) Your essay must include:

A description of the experience or situation and your goal

The obstacles you faced and steps you took to address them

The outcome with respect to your goals and why this outcome occurred

Our online application system will guide you through these required sections. At any time you may log out and return to your application later, but you may not make any changes to your application once you submit it to Houston A+ Challenge.

Tips for Successful Essays
The academy is seeking candidates who have a track record of teaching and leadership success, and also possess the following essential characteristics:

• Effective communicator – empathetic with good people skills
• Reflective – results-oriented and analytical, with a track record of success
• Knowledgeable – resourceful and eager to learn, with a strong background in instruction
• Leader – motivated by the development of others
• Passionate – inspiring, with a "whatever it takes" attitude

Thus, successful essays:

• Answer the entire question
• Are specific, compelling and use demonstrable evidence and examples
• Demonstrate your perspective and skills as they relate to our essential characteristics for aspiring principals
• Reflect on past experiences
• Use an essay format, rather than subheads or bullets
• Exhibit attention to detail, including proper grammar and spelling

Application Deadline
We strongly recommend that you start your application early and submit it well before the deadline (5 p.m. CST on Feb. 12, 2010). Applications can not be accepted after this deadline.

We encourage you to work on your essays off-line, and then paste them into the online application. As the deadline draws near, remember that many users will be on the system, increasing the likelihood that you may run into technical problems. Please plan on submitting your completed application at least a few days prior to the deadline.

Next Steps
Houston A+ Challenge reviews applications on a rolling basis. Applicants selected to advance to Round 2 will be invited to interview via phone. Houston A+ Challenge will contact applicants directly to schedule appointments.

Applicants selected to advance to Round 3 will be invited to in-person interviews in Houston with Academy selection committee members. Houston A+ Challenge will contact applicants directly to schedule meeting dates and times.

All applicants will be notified of their final admission status in early May 2010.

The six-week summer intensive begins in early June 2010, and Action Residencies in Houston-area public schools begin in August at the start of each district's academic school year.

We look forward to reading your application!

Click Here to Begin Your Application

Application Deadline:
Friday, Feb. 12, 2010
5 p.m. CST