Resource Training and Solutions is excited to offer Leadership Evolution for the third consecutive year during the 2020 - 2021 school year. Leadership Evolution provides both new and experienced administrators with a year of learning focused on leadership theory, put into action. This program is designed for anyone with an administrative license - for those who are new to a leadership position, and for those with experience who want to further develop their leadership skills. 

Leadership Evolution is currently in its second year. The content of the program is generated by central Minnesota principals. Topics for the current cohort include Strengths Finder, innovation, adaptive leadership, design thinking, culturally responsive leadership, as well as vulnerability and self-care. 

We sat down with Sam Court, a principal from John Clark Elementary School in Rockville, Minnesota. Sam is in his second year of Leadership Evolution. “As a principal, it is difficult to find time to be out of your building. Leadership Evolution is the exception. I found myself returning to my building more energized, with knowledge and tools that are applicable to any school setting.” 

Leadership Evolution's focus is to equip principals with the proper training, tools, and application to further develop their leadership capacity. Sam talked about how Leadership Evolution learning outcomes are equivalent to those he received while working towards his administrative license, with one major difference “It is great because you can immediately take back the knowledge you gain and implement it directly into your school or district.” This is something Sam was unable to do while attaining his administrative license. 

“The first year I participated in Leadership Evolution, a lot of the content tied in with my role as the district RTI (Response to Intervention) Coordinator and the MTSS (Multi-tiered Systems of Support) process.” Sam has utilized the work from the first year of Leadership Evolution to improve his school district’s RTI System. He has reworked his MTSS school committees to be more efficient based on protocols from the first year of Leadership Evolution. “A lot of the topics were very specific. I was able to take the content and implement it directly into our schools.” The ROCORI School District is now doing a lot of equity work. “We are working to identify inequities and raise the level of inclusiveness in all of our schools based on the content from Leadership Evolution.”    

Leadership Evolution creates a network of colleagues within the cohort and builds a trusted relationship with a peer partner through online and face-to-face personalized mentoring. Sam Court’s peer partner in his first year was Darren Schueler, principal of Delano Elementary School. “I got a ton of ideas, Delano is a few years ahead of us with the implementation of PBIS in their school. It was great to be able to see where it could go.” Learning from Darren, Sam has implemented some of the things Darren is doing in his school, in Sam’s building. For example, posters containing photos of students and John Clark Elementary’s core values can now be found throughout the building. 

"The outcomes and value of Leadership Evolution are pretty amazing, you can’t get that level of experience, knowledge, and collaborative work with peers at that price anywhere else."              - Sam Court, principal of John Clark Elementary

Registration for the 2020 - 2021 cohort of Leadership Evolution will open in April. Registration will be available online. Members of Resource Training & Solutions can register for $600.00 per person. Those who participated in the 2019 - 2020 cohort can register at half cost, $300.00 per person. Non-members can register for $840.00 per person. A partnership with Bethel University allows leaders to earn up to three doctoral credits for their participation in Leadership Evolution at no additional cost. 

For more information Contact Michelle Wang, Education Director.