Creating Leaders to Enhance Learning for 21st Century Schools

At the Principal Residency Network, we develop principals who bring about educational change by shaping innovative, personalized schools. Our goal is to inspire visionaries to create safe environments where children excel and where all members of the learning community are empowered.

Through the one-year PRN program, aspiring principals may earn either a master's degree or post-master's Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study as well as principal certification. Since 1999, 250 school administrators in New England have received certification through PRN.

PRN is born of the idea that effective school leaders for the 21st Century are best trained in the schoolhouse, where Aspiring Principals work with Mentor Principals to cope with daily challenges and create learning opportunities for all. A year-long residency in a school, working alongside a mentor principal, is enhanced by focused readings and meetings.

The minimum requirement for admission to the PRN program is a bachelor's degree and three years experience as a teacher, school counselor, or education specialist.

Outline of Key Elements of PRN

The one-year residency is highlighted by these events:

June: cohort orientation of paired teams.

July 1: the program begins.

September-May: regular training sessions and residency with Mentor Principal.

October, December, March: successive drafts of the Aspiring Principal's Learning Plan.

February: presentation of the Aspiring Principal's Vision Paper on leadership.

June: Exhibition of Competence and graduation.

Graduate Options

For those who do not yet hold a Master's in Education Leadership, or who wish to work toward a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study, PRN and UVTI offer special connections to our university partners, where candidates get full credit for PRN work.

PRN@UVTI is proud to partner with New England College so that our students can earn a Master of Education in School Leadership degree. If you are interested in earning your master’s degree, click here for more information: NEC