Certificate, P-3 Leadership

School of Education & Human Development

Overview

Degree: Credit available Non-credit

Classroom Type: Fully Online

Provides elementary and early learning leaders with skills and knowledge to lead cross-system improvements and to implement instructional reforms that benefit our youngest learners, preschool through 3rd grade.

Application​ deadlines


May 1, 2023

Time Commitment

The program consists of approximately 135 hours of learning. There are 9 modules, with 10 to 12 hours of asynchronous learning and three hours of synchronous learning per module.

Credit Available

Program may be converted to six CU Denver graduate credits or 9 CEUs.

Mode and Time to Completion

Fully online with synchronous and asynchronous learning completed in 11 months with month-long breaks in September and January.

Program Details

Campus: CU Denver Online

p-3 center logo

This 11-month, fully online, executive-style program is for working administrators who want to engage in intentional and collaborative learning to deepen their understanding of child development, school leadership, and learning opportunities that dismantle historic inequities.

Our approach at the University of Colorado Denver is to support working professionals in an engaging, blended format of monthly modules completed primarily through asynchronous work. The program also provides bi-monthly synchronous sessions with leading researchers and practitioner-experts engaged in innovative P-3 work.

Objectives

  • Develop strong leadership skills and knowledge to ensure a high-quality continuum of learning for students across early learning and the early grades
  • Learn effective strategies to link and align elementary schools with community-based early care and education (ECE) programs
  • Grow abilities to effectively implement current reforms (e.g., school improvement plans, pre-K expansion, teacher evaluations, transitions to kindergarten) in ways that benefit young children and education professionals
  • Advance effective strategies to involve families, teachers, and communities in closing achievement gaps early

Why Enroll

While school readiness and ready schools were priorities before the pandemic, they have become even more important as school districts, early care and education (ECE) programs, state agencies, and other stakeholders grapple with the inequitable opportunities provided to our youngest learners. Now is an opportune time for school leaders to re-imagine and invest deeply in their skills and knowledge to design school cultures and collaborative teamwork, informed by research, that will close early achievement gaps and support young learners.

Who Should Participate

  • Elementary school principals
  • School district administrators
  • School board members
  • Administrative leaders in early care and education (ECE)
  • Teams that include leaders from both ECE and PreK-12 are strongly encouraged to enroll together

Schedule

The National P-3 Leadership Certificate program launches June 1, 2023 and concludes April 30, 2024. This 11-month, nine-module, non-degree, continuing professional education certificate paces participants to engage in one module per month. Month-long breaks are scheduled for September 2023 and January 2024.  For each of the modules, the learning format is primarily asynchronous content with two 90-minute synchronous sessions.

Dates

Module Topics

June 2023

Module 1: Foundations for P-3

July 2023

Module 2: Child Development with an Equity Lens

August 2023

Module 3: Engaging Families and Communities

September 2023

BREAK

October 2023

Module 4: Learning Environments and School Culture

November 2023

Module 5: Supporting Effective Teaching

December 2023

Module 6: Aligned Curricula and Instructional Practices

January 2024

BREAK

February 2024

Module 7: Continuous Improvement

March 2024

Module 8: P-3 Policy and Advocacy

April 2024

Module 9: Building for P-3 Sustainability

 

Program Cost

$2,500*

Teams of participants can be supported by state or district Title II-A, American Rescue Plan (ARP), and other sources. Please contact us if you would like to discuss possibilities.

*Costs of materials (~$100) not included

Recommended Completion Time:11 months

Admission Requirements


  • Resume
  • Write a 500-word statement of interest answering the following questions:
    • Why are you interested in participating in the P-3 Leadership Certificate program?
    • What outcomes do you hope will occur as a result of completing this professional learning opportunity?
    • How do you imagine you will use the learning to support your school/program and community?
For more information, please email us at pthru3@ucdenver.edu.