INTRODUCTION

The Education Leadership (EDLD) Doctorate is a cohort, weekend, mid-career, program designed to embrace the emerging needs of schools by preparing leaders who are knowledgeable in all aspects of school administration and leadership.  These emerging leaders will be able to access and use data to lead the schools of the future and to serve the leadership needs of the Eastern Shore Community. The EDLD program is designed for State Certification for the office of superintendent or other central office positions.  It is a terminal degree based on leadership in all aspects of school district operations.

As the doctoral degree-granting institution on the Eastern Shore, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) has designed this program to respond to the educational needs of school administrators across the state and nation with particular emphasis on those residing and/or working on the Eastern Shore. UMES has as its vision developing a Doctorate of Education whose aim is to produce ethical and humane leaders for Maryland and the nation’s schools who are:

• Respond to the diverse needs and diverse students who attend our schools and who will seek to provide an equal and quality education for all children based on state and national standards;
• Develop leadership skills which are demonstrated in building effective team-oriented approaches to teaching and learning in order to maximize the academic achievement of all students;
• Demonstrate scholarly behaviors such as reflection and problem-solving and possess the ability to locate, design, critique and implement research relevant to effective practice;
• Adapt to changing environments and problems, lead the change process, solve new problems and develop adaptive learning organizations; and
• Demonstrate ethical and legal standards in all leadership processes.

Beginning with the 2010-2011 cohort, UMES will be seeking national accreditation (NCATE) for the EDLD Program. In addition, the program is aligned with the standards of the Maryland Instructional Leadership Framework (MILF), the Educational Leadership Constituent Consortium (ELCC) and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium ISLLC. The intent of this redesign is also to seek eligibility for state licensure as an Administrator II for doctoral candidates, after successful completion of this program.