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Admission to the SBL programs requires:

• Master’s degree in education or a certification-related area, with a 3.0 or better GPA
• Teacher or school counselor certification
• Three years of K-12 school experience
• References (two, at least one from a supervising principal or superintendent)
• Interview & writing sample

Students in the Advanced Certificate in School Building leadership program meet the National Educational Leadership Program (NELP) standards for building level administrators. 

1. Mission, Vision, and Improvement
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to collaboratively lead, design, and implement a school mission, vision, and process for continuous improvement that reflects a core set of values and priorities that include data use, technology, equity, diversity, digital citizenship, and community.

2. Ethics and Professional Norms
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to understand and demonstrate the capacity to advocate for ethical decisions and cultivate and enact professional norms.

3. Equity, Inclusiveness, and Cultural Responsiveness
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to develop and maintain a supportive, equitable, culturally responsive, and inclusive school culture.

4. Learning and Instruction
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to evaluate, develop, and implement coherent systems of curriculum, instruction, data systems, supports, and assessment.

5. Community and External Leadership
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to engage families, community, and school personnel in order to strengthen student learning, support school improvement, and advocate for the needs of their school and community.

6. Operations and Management
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to improve management, communication, technology, school-level governance, and operation systems to develop and improve data-informed and equitable school resource plans and to apply laws, policies, and regulations.

7. Building Professional Capacity
Candidates who successfully complete a building-level educational leadership preparation program understand and demonstrate the capacity to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by applying the knowledge, skills, and commitments necessary to build the school’s professional capacity, engage staff in the development of a collaborative professional culture, and improve systems of staff supervision, evaluation, support, and professional learning.

8. Internship
Candidates successfully complete an internship under the supervision of knowledgeable, expert practitioners that engages candidates in multiple and diverse school settings and provides candidates with coherent, authentic, and sustained opportunities to synthesize and apply the knowledge and skills identified in NELP standards 1–7 in ways that approximate the full range of responsibilities required of building-level leaders and enable them to promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult in their school.

The full text of these standards and the components can be found at:  

• Advanced Certificate – School Building Leader (SBL)
• Advanced Certificate – School District Leader (SDL)

Offered through St. Bonaventure’s Educational Leadership program, the School Building Leader (SBL) certificate prepares experienced school personnel to take on a leadership position, in particular the role of school principal, in a public or private school in New York state. Students entering the SBL program are, without exception, working school teachers or counselors.

The School District Leader (SDL) certificate is the credential required for those seeking to lead a school district in New York state. St. Bonaventure requires entrants to the SDL program to have completed the coursework for the SBL certification. Students entering the SDL are working school personnel — teachers, counselors or principals.

Some students earning the SBL/SDL certificate will serve a school in administrative positions other than principal or superintendent, e.g., director of special education, curriculum coordinator or athletic director. Similarly, students earning the SBL/SDL may find employment with an agency that serves schools — a regional Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), for example.

Helpful websites
Excellent information on the SBL and SDL professions is available on the

An excellent overview of careers in educational administration, including the outlook for jobs, wages, work settings and skills required, is available at

Federal Gainful Employment Disclosure