The Wah.Zha.Zhi Educational Leadership Academy is a program that was created out of a partnership with Kansas State University with the goal of training educational leaders specifically for the Osage community. Students who complete the academy will receive a Masters in Educational Leadership from Kansas State University, and will be prepared to be a leader in a variety of educational settings.

This program is meant to provide educational leadership training for people who aspire to be strong teacher leaders, building leaders, department leaders, program leaders and much more. Although people often think that building leadership (principals) are the only people that should seek this degree, there are many other types of educational leaders that find value in this degree.

However, if you are interested in building level licensure, this academy can help you with this as well. You will only need to take two additional courses which are offered in the Summer with distance/online learning options.

The academy will lead to the acquisition of a master's degree over two years. Students will be enrolled in 6 hours of credit for each Fall and Spring semester, and 3 hours of credit every Summer. Students who wish to seek building level licensure will need to take an additional 3 hours each summer, which is two extra courses, which are offered in distance/online formats.

Primarily, classes will be held once every other week the during the Fall and Spring semesters in the evenings with respect to professional work schedules. Academy meeting sites are yet to be determined, but will likely be held in one of these locations: Ponca City Casino conference rooms, Osage Nation Campus Headquarter in Pawhuska, or Osage Nation Education classrooms in Hominy. Some holidays (no major holidays) when Osage Nation offices are closed will also be treated as opportunities for lengthier face to face class time, along with one or two trips per year to the Manhattan, KS campus. Students seeking licensure may also be required to attend a minimal number of Manhattan campus visits, for their two extra summer courses. Overall, students will be expected to commit evening, weekend, and other flex time to fulfill their responsibilities with the program, although scheduling will be done with professional work obligations in mind.

Candidates must submit all application materials in a timely manner to be considered. Following a screening process, candidates may be selected for a personal interview. Applicants selected to participate in the Leadership Academy will be notified by April 4, 2016.

Tuition will not be billed as "out of state". Tuition charges will be based on the most up to date version of KSUs Global Campus tuition schedule, which is meant for programs such as these which are offered in distance learning and hybrid online environments. KSU Global Campus tuition rates can be found at:

http://www.k-state.edu/finsvcs/cashiers/documents/costs/FY16ManhattanGl…

Students will be required to fund their own tuition, with the option of seeking assistance through the Osage Nation Higher Education Scholarship Program.

Osage Nation Scholarship information can be found at: https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/what-we- do/education-department/education-scholarship

Please feel free to ask the coordinators of this program questions about loans and/or paying tuition through installments.

• The focus will include improving leadership capacities for early childhood settings, K-12 settings, as well as tribal government and cultural preservation education leadership settings.

• Themes will include understanding organizational structure, teaming and collaboration skills, coaching, problem solving, effective leadership skills, de/colonizing and critical social philosophies, rural education leadership, and more.

•Students will be involved in significant learning sequences/projects that will benefit both the tribal governments education capacities and the student.

The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC), the Curriculum Guidelines for Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the 21 Principal Leadership Responsibilities (McREL, 2003) will be the foundation of the curriculum.

Each successful candidate will work with skilled mentors. Mentors will be assigned on the basis of their expertise related to program themes and potential projects. The purpose of the mentors is to assist academy participants in analyzing ideas and working on special projects identified in the Academy.

Instructional delivery will be shared between the faculty of the K-State Department of Educational Leadership and staff, Melvina Prather (Osage, Former Superintendent and Principal in Hominy and Skiatook Schools), Alex Red Corn (Osage, Doctoral Candidate in K-State Department of Educational Leadership) and guest lecturers from the community.

Questions about this program should be directed to:

Melvina Prather

Osage Nation Education Task Force - Chair
Cell: 918.625.5184
mprather@osagenation-nsn.gov

Alex Red Corn

Special Coordinator for Indigenous Partnerships
Kansas State University-College of Education
Department of Educational Leadership
Cell: 913.206.2392
aredcorn@ksu.edu