School principals may hold the most important roles in America. They are a critical factor for both student learning and school quality.
Despite this, Boston lacked a single effective leadership development organization designed for principals.
The Lynch Foundation recognized this unmet need. We wanted to develop an educational organization catered to our city’s pedagogical leaders. This program would address specific issues urban school leaders face on a daily basis.
Alongside that, we wanted the program’s focus to be on practical and tactical skills that are aligned and supportive of the needs of our students and families.
The Lynch Leadership Academy
Thus, in 2010 The Lynch Foundation made its largest gift to date. This gift funded the formation of the Lynch Leadership Academy at Boston College, with two Trustees — Carolyn Lynch and Rick Spillane — as founding Advisory Board Members. A decade later, Rick continues to provide technical support and advice as an invaluable member of the committee. LLA remains one of a small handful of organizations created, launched, and managed by The Lynch Foundation.
Since its launch in 2011, LLA has become a nationally-recognized model for training urban school leaders, an effort that combines education and development to focus on principal preparation and executive education.
The program itself consists of an intensive 14-month fellowship. This fellowship integrates high-quality professional development with individualized one-on-one coaching.
The program’s focus points include:
- Equity in education
- Instructional leadership
- Urban schooling
- Executive management
The program’s goal is to help principals decrease education inequity & increase student achievement.
We also aim to provide principals with knowledge and understanding to engage their fellow teachers. An emphasis on communication and connection amongst educators is pivotal to meeting these important goals.
In its first 10 years, LLA has served over 200 fellows and comprises 50% of the school leaders in Boston.
Our fellows and alumni lead district public, charter public, and parochial schools in over twenty different cities and towns in Massachusetts. In total, they lead more than 50,000 students across the commonwealth. Many are in key leadership positions, including eight at the superintendent level.
With the knowledge from the LLA behind them, these leaders are ready to continue amplifying their community impact for years to come.
After over a decade of successful growth in Massachusetts, LLA is launching pilots for national scaling and expansion.
Visit the Lynch Leadership Academy site for more information