Photo caption: The Beginning Principals Academy – Year 1 cohort in Bibb County poses for a photo during their first session.
The College of Education & Human Development’s Principals Center partnered with the Bibb County School District to open its first satellite site in Macon, Ga.
The Principals Center, housed in the college’s Department of Educational Policy Studies, provides school leaders with learning and networking opportunities designed to develop their capacity and create schools that work for all children. The center’s programs like the Tool Box Series, Expert Leaders Series and Cohort Series offer professional development and learning for aspiring, new and current educational leaders.
The satellite site began its work in November 2024 with the Beginning Principals Academy – Year 1, one of the center’s Cohort Series programs. It’s designed to build new principals’ capacity to enhance student learning and create success for their schools and for themselves.
Twenty-three principals enrolled in the academy, and they meet multiple times during the academic year to discuss approaches to solving leadership challenges, supporting teaching and learning in the classroom, and leading and managing their schools more effectively.
The satellite site’s opening aligns with the goals set forth in the Principals Center’s five-year strategic plan, according to Dionne Cowan, the center’s executive director.
It also allows the center, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, to expand the number of educational leaders who have access to its professional development series.
“Our new satellite site represents more than just progress in supporting school leaders in Middle Georgia – it embodies our unwavering belief in the power of community,” Cowan said. “We’re honored to partner with the Bibb County School District to build the capacity of both practicing and aspiring school leaders in the region.”