The Center for School Leadership of Pre-University Educational Institutions (CSL) is co-established by the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) and the Ministry of Education and Sports in October 2018, aiming to broaden and advance leadership skills for principals and aspiring principals.
In accordance with the aim, a training program was established, based on successful models on school leadership skills improvement in -compliance with the professional development needs, standards and qualifications of school principals in Albania.
On January 21st, 2022, the Center for School Leadership organized the Graduation Ceremony of the 2-nd Cohort for all the participants who successfully completed the Compulsory Preparatory Training Program (CTP) during the timeframe October 2020-July 2021.
184 participants completed a journey full of challenges and were successfully certified, out of 209 participants who firstly enrolled in the CTP.
Among the 184 certified school leaders, 84 of them are school principals in duty and the rest are deputy principals and teachers aspiring to run the pre-university educational institutions.
In the Graduation Ceremony of the 2nd Cohort, distinguished guests Mrs. Evis Kushi, Minister of Education and Sports, Mr. Martin Mata, and Mr. Aleksandër Sarapuli, Co–Chief Executive Officers of the Albanian-American Development Foundation, and representatives of education institutions, partners, and collaborators of the Center for School Leadership joined to congratulate principals and aspiring principals on their achievements, while extending the same to the committed and hardworking faculty and non-teaching staff .
In her welcoming remarks Mrs. Kushi, Minister of Education and Sports, stated that “The school principals play a crucial role in guaranteeing the quality and well-being of all school-related processes. I am very confident that you will make a valuable contribution to quality assurance in our educational institutions.”
During the ceremony, the CSL had the pleasure to award prizes as a symbol of excellence to participants who achieved the highest scores. Moreover, mentors, the school principals who welcomed and supported the participants during the professional practice received a certificate of appreciation as a way of recognizing their contribution and dedication.
The impact it had on the professional career for the participants of the 1-st Cohort, was accompanied with a substantial increase in the number of applications, resulting in quadrupling the number of participants in the 2-nd Cohort. For this reason, the program expanded in Tirana, Elbasan and Durres by cooperating with four universities that offered the training programs, in accordance with the standards and the required quality from CSL.
The Center for School Leadership is confident that every certified principal and aspiring principal who will lead the pre-university education schools will continually strive to improve teaching and learning environment where students can be motivated and skillful to overcome the challenges of the future.