Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
In December 2003, the State Board of Education approved adoption of the national
standards for school leaders developed by the Interstate School Leader Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) as
the New Jersey Professional Standards for School Leaders, and required that all licensure regulations and
the State–required Residency for standard principal certification be aligned with those standards.
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During 2004, a State Advisory Committee was established and charged with reviewing
the existing guidelines for standard principal certification for new school leaders and making recommendations
for revisions that would:
- align the criteria and process with the NJ Professional Standards for School Leaders
- streamline the guidelines to facilitate the process and issuance of provisional and standard
certifications
- provide high–quality, intensive and sustained mentoring and support for all new school leaders
across the State to improve induction and retention
In January 2005, the New Jersey department of Education (NJDOE) approved revision of the State regulations
in accordance with the recommendations of the State Advisory Committee.
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The new State regulations will go into effect July 1, 2005 and will apply to all new school leaders whose official date of hire, as approved by the local Board of Education, is effective July 1, 2005 or later.
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All those who hold a Certificate of Eligibility for Principal and are newly
hired into positions that require principal certification (i.e. principal, vice/assistant principal, director,
assistant director) must complete the State–required Residency and be evaluated by a state–approved
mentor who will make the recommendation for standard principal certification. Following receipt of state–required
documents at the beginning of the Residency, the NJDOE will issue provisional certification to the new school leader for the Residency period.
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In order to assure consistent development and implementation of the new State
regulations across the State, the NJDOE is collaborating with the Foundation for Educational Administration
(FEA) in a two–year pilot project that will field–test the new guidelines using the FEA’s
NJ Leaders to Leaders (NJ–L2L) Program. The FEA is a non–profit organization dedicated to
advancing school leadership in New Jersey through professional development, service, scholarships, and
support for research and dissemination in the field of educational leadership. NJ–L2L is an FEA
service to school leaders in New Jersey. The NJ–L2L Program was state–approved in March 2003
and has established an excellent record as a comprehensive induction program that supports new school
leaders through the state–required Residency with trained mentors, continuing professional
development, and a range of professional services.
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Key revisions to the state guidelines follow:
- All mentors must be trained and certified as State–approved trained mentors.
Mentor training will ensure that all mentors have a sound understanding of the NJ Professional Standards
for School Leaders, the State regulations for the Residency and process for standard principal certification,
and research–based mentoring techniques that effectively address the unique needs of new school
leaders and support them through the transition to their complex and challenging new roles.
- Each Resident will be paired with an external mentor who is not employed in the same district.
The State’s intent is to provide mentoring and support for new school leaders in addition to that
which may be provided by the district, thereby assuring that the mentor can devote sufficient time and
attention to address the range of new school leaders’ needs. Additionally, the State’s intent
is to establish and maintain explicit parameters related to the unique role of State–approved
external mentors, specifically their regulatory responsibilities for evaluation and recommendation of new
school leaders for standard principal certification. The State’s process must be separate and
distinct from the district’s evaluation process for new school leaders. Furthermore, there can be
no implication that district personnel have had any direct or indirect influence on the external mentor’s
evaluation and recommendation for standard certification. Nor can there be an implication that the external
mentor had any direct or indirect influence on district personnel decisions related to evaluation and
recommendation for rehiring of the new school leaders.
- The Residency will be two (2) years in length instead of the one to two years that was allowed in the previous State regulations.
The State’s intent is to provide a sufficient period of time for induction, intensive and sustained
mentoring and support, and mentor evaluation and recommendation of new school leaders for standard principal
licensure. The two–year Residency also provides sufficient time for Residents to complete a series
of State–required job–embedded experiences that are aligned with the NJ Professional Standards
for School Leaders. During Year 1, Residents will engage in Explorations in each of the State’s
standards for school leaders and job–embedded experiences, which will lead to identification of two
to three district/school barriers to improving teaching and learning. An action research project that addresses
these barriers will be completed in Year 2 of the Residency.
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Eligible mentors are retired school leaders and currently employed school leaders
with principal and/or director experience in public schools. Currently employed school leaders cannot mentor
a new school leader within the same district but may mentor someone in another district. In such cases,
the mentor must ensure that he/she will be able to provide the required minimum number of mentoring contact
hours and support. Those interested in mentoring must apply to the FEA and complete the state–required
mentor training program.
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NJ–L2L will pair trained mentors and new school leaders based on the
administrative experience of the mentor related to:
- types of positions held (i.e. principal, director)
- grade levels (i.e. primary, elementary, middle, high school)
- district/community types (i.e. urban, rural, suburban, regional)
- school types (i.e. technical, special education)
Pairing will also consider unique experience and/or expertise of mentors that may be particularly
suitable to circumstances of new school leaders. Mentors and new school leaders will have an opportunity
to meet to determine if the "fit" is right for each of them, and an NJ–L2L Orientation will
be held for both mentors and new school leaders before the Residency begins. The pairing may be changed
if either mentor or new school leader requests it.
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NJ–L2L is a non–profit self–funded program and will not be
funded by the State. Accordingly, the NJDOE has approved registration fees that will pay the mentor
stipend and cover administrative costs that are sufficient to operate and sustain the program without
state or other funding. Registration fees may be paid by the district or new school leader. It should be
noted that NJ–L2L is recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) and Thomas Edison State
College for four (4) graduate credits per year, which may be used to reimburse new school leaders for
registration fees in accordance with district policies and negotiated agreements.
- Residency (Year 1) = $1800
-
Minimum 45 Mentor Contact Hours
Mentor Stipend = $1500 per Resident
Administrative Costs per Resident = $300
- Residency (Year 2) = $1300
-
Minimum 30 Mentor Contact Hours
Mentor Stipend = $1000 per Resident
Administrative Costs per Resident = $300
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After July 1, 2005, the hiring district must register each new school leader
online on our registration page.
Districts will receive confirmation of the registration, and will be able to download the State publication
entitled Mentoring and Supporting New School Leaders in New Jersey: A Guidebook for Standard Principal
Certification (NJDOE, 2005) for further information. NJ–L2L will pair the registered new school leaders with
trained mentors. The mentors will contact the new school leaders with whom they are paired, and will also
contact their districts to complete the state–required documents for the Residency. Mentors will be
responsible for transmitting all state documents to NJ–L2L, which will maintain copies for its records
and forward originals to the NJDOE.
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The State of New Jersey will benefit by its collaboration with the FEA and use
of FEA’s NJ–L2L Program as the delivery system for consistent statewide implementation of the
Residency, facilitating the process for standard principal certification, and improving induction and retention
of new school leaders across the state.
Districts will benefit by having a comprehensive induction program and a trained mentor to support each
new school leader, and having the state–required documents processed to the NJDOE through FEA/NJ–L2L,
which will facilitate processing and issuance of state provisional and standard certifications.
Mentors will benefit from being well trained and having a structured mentoring process with ongoing
support from NJ–L2L staff to guide them as they mentor new school leaders. An additional benefit
results from FEA paying the mentors. Since FEA is a private non-profit organization, mentors who are retired
and collect state pensions will not be subject to pension penalties.
New school leaders will benefit from a comprehensive induction program that includes intensive and
sustained mentoring support by trained mentors, opportunities for continuing professional development and
networking with other mentors and new school leaders, and an expedited process for state provisional and
standard certification. Since NJ–L2L is recommended by the American Council on Education (ACE) and
Thomas Edison State College for four (4) graduate credits per year, new school leaders may be eligible for
district reimbursement and salary advancement in accordance with district policies and negotiated agreements,
and may also transfer these credits to graduate programs in accordance with the higher education institution’s
admissions policies.
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The State assesses each candidate an administrative fee of $200 and a licensing
fee of $75 that includes the issuance of the provisional certificate and the standard certificate. These
fees are payable at the end of the successful completion of the two year Residency.
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No, the State’s professional development requirement is waived during the
two–year Residency. However, the State–required activities for the Residency are designed as
job–embedded inquiries into school leadership practice that will stimulate reflection and enhance
the Resident’s professional growth during the two–year Residency. It is intended that activities
undertaken during the Residency will prepare the Resident to develop the State–required Professional
Growth Plan (PGP) by the end of Year 2 of the Residency and be ready to implement it the following year in
accordance with State regulations.
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Effective June 15, 2005, we will have the following information available:
- general information
- on–line district registration of new school leaders
- mentor application and training information
- NJ–L2L application for new school leaders
- the State Guidebook for the Residency
- state–required documents
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