FIRST NATIONS SCHOOLS PRINCIPALS’ COURSE
The foundation of a successful school is a skilled and committed principal who provides consistent and creative leadership.
MFI’s First Nations Schools Principals’ Course serves as a much-needed resource, providing principals, vice-principals, and aspirants with professional development aimed at building leadership skills and improving educational outcomes for students.
MFI spent over a year and half working in a partnership with 13 First Nations educators, academics, and education leaders as well as the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto to develop a course that combines face-to-face and online learning, which greatly increases its accessibility and reach.
The course was introduced as a pilot program in September 2015. It was piloted with 20 experienced principals from across Canada in order to provide feedback on the activities and resources, and smooth out potential hiccups.
OISE offers the course to educators across Canada.
“The course helps us focus on what is important in our job and inspires us to be better principals.”
The Course
Research shows just how valuable principals are in improving student learning.
A highly effective principal who is successful in leading student success initiatives has been trained how to first work with their teachers, and then:
- Lead collaborative problem solving with staff and stakeholders.
- Collect and analyze student test data.
- Implement school and classroom data-driven decision making.
- Carry out the work required for high levels of personal and organizational performance.
The Curriculum
The ten-month, 200-hour program consists of ten modules plus a 30-hour practicum. The first module is in a face-to-face format and the remainder is taught online. Currently, successful completion of this program provides a Certificate of Completion. Within an Indigenous framework, the main themes of the course include educational leadership and improving school practices.