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As schools confront change, Bay Path University launches new doctorate program for K-12 leaders

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Longmeadow, MA— Bay Path University is proud to announce the launch of a new educational doctoral degree program, created to train school leaders to navigate change and initiate transformation in K-12 schools.

The Transformative School Leadership (TSL) program is designed specifically for K-12 educators and related professionals, including classroom teachers, ABA professionals, school adjustment or mental health counselors, and school and district leaders who want to advance in their career or seek faculty positions to prepare the next generation of school leaders.

Delivered in a completely online format, with one immersive weekend workshop per year held on Bay Path’s Longmeadow campus, the program provides flexibility along with access to a dynamic online community of peers and faculty. A 30-credit All-But-Dissertation (ABD) completion and a 36-credit EdS/CAGS completion option are also offered.

“In an era of heightened disruption and revolutionary challenges, many education experts have called for a new kind of leadership,” says Dr. Liz Fleming, the program’s director. “We’re meeting this need by teaching students how to re-imagine organizations, institutions, and districts, make tough decisions, re-examine traditional ways of doing business, and adopt an opportunity rather than a scarcity mindset.”

The TSL program is an extension of Bay Path’s groundbreaking HELOS (Higher Education Leadership and Organizational Studies) degree program, launched three years ago to prepare professionals to anticipate, instigate and administer broad changes in the higher ed sector.

“Our first cohort of 23 students just graduated from the HELOS degree program, and their experience and positive feedback confirms the relevance of a doctoral degree that prepares educators differently,” says Dr. Melissa Morriss-Olson, the founding director of that program, as well as Bay Path’s Center for Higher Ed Leadership and Innovative Practice. “With this new offering aimed at those who work in support of the K-12 context, we are responding to the demand to extend this one-of-a-kind doctoral preparation to all educators.”

Bay Path will welcome its first cohort of TSL students on October 24, 2022. Please visit the EdD in Educational Leadership: Transformative School Leadership program page to learn about faculty, program options and more!

About Bay Path University

Bay Path University was founded in 1897. Bay Path’s enrolled population of over 3,000 includes traditional undergraduates; adult women at The American Women's College, the first all-women, all-online accredited degree program in the country; and women and men master’s and doctoral students. Bay Path’s goal is to give students confidence in the fundamentals of their chosen field, the curiosity to question the ordinary, the leadership to show initiative, and the desire to make a difference.