The Center for School Leadership has been established as result of cooperation between Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) and Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth (MoESY) aiming to support the professional development of in-service principals and aspiring principals of public or private pre-university educational institutions, by administering the compulsory training, certification process and provide on-the-job continuous professional development training.

This structured and sustainable initiative between AADF and MoESY institutionalized in their agreement signed on October 04, 2018 addressing the substantial need that the whole education system has on professional development of schools’ directors is based on the high benefits that the whole education system can have by investing on this particular segment of education system in Albania.

In close collaboration with MoESY, the Law No. 48/2018 “On some additions and amendments to the Law No. 69/2012 ‘On the pre-university education system in Albania’ amended” is approved by Albanian Parliament in July 2018 and includes managerial and administrative training and professional certification as an additional mandatory requirement to exercise the role as a school principal. Based on this revised law as well as the Decision of Council of Ministers No. 540/2018 dt. 19.09.2018 “On the organization and function of the Center for School Leadership of Pre-University Education Institutions and their training and certification”, The Center for School Leadership functions since October 2018 and has managerial, administrative, financial and technical independence.

The Center for School Leadership is one of the projects that AADF in cooperation with other stakeholders has undertaken in education as one of the most important fields in foundation of a sustainable development in Albania.