“Our real strength lies in the Department’s talent and diversity, and commitment to furthering educational opportunity as a means to confronting racism, social and economic inequities, and achieving social justice.”
The UCLA Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) trains and supports a diverse group of individuals committed to the principles of academic excellence, equity, and integrity as a way to maximize achievement and opportunity for students in urban schools. The Principal Leadership Institute at UCLA has designed a rigorous 14-month program aligned with the California Administrative Professional Expectations (CAPEs) that will prepare the next generation of urban school leaders. The program grants a Master’s degree and completion of the courses required for the California Tier 1 Administrative Credential. The program is designed to attract outstanding educators who have administrative interests and recognized potential. The Principal Leadership Institute utilizes the Reciprocal Learning Partnership Equity Framework.
20th Anniversary Brochure
The UCLA Principal Leadership Institute recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary, along with the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley.
PLI Cohort 21 Collective Statement
June 2021
As democratic leaders committed to social justice, we believe in humanity and love.
We believe learning is communal, inclusive, and responsive to student assets–and this means data must always be holistic.
We believe it is our duty to affirm, validate, and integrate the cultural identity of our students, families, and communities.
We believe this work must be centered in the heart and pushed outside of the school.
We believe in getting started and taking action.
We believe in speaking up, speaking out, and speaking truth.
As democratic leaders committed to social justice we will lead with hope and love, starting with students first.
We will disrupt the system that marginalizes the most vulnerable of our society and give value to their assets.
We will see the unseen, hear the unheard.
We will work together to build collaborative movements in solidarity rather than acting alone in isolation.
We will take strategic and necessary risks, and deliberately empower students, parents, teachers, and the community.
We will find our people and hold them close.
We will speak up, speak out, speak truth.
We need your help to create conditions that support our efforts and our development as democratic, social justice leaders.
We need relational trust, radical hope, and empowered voices that are valued and respected.
We need more money invested in our schools and communities.
We need to speak up, speak out, speak truth.
UCLA Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) in the News
PLI Alum Felix Quinonez Named 2020 LAUSD Teacher of the Year
Felix Quinonez, PLI Cohort 6, was honored with a Los Angeles Unified Teacher of the Year award.
National Survey of HS Principals Finds Strong Response to COVID-19, Pervasive Inequity
PLI Professor John Rogers’ report revealed new findings on schools’ and communities’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the inequality that the pandemic has all too starkly exposed.
Daniel G. Solórzano Elected to the National Academy of Education
PLI Professor Daniel G. Solórzano was recognized for his lifelong work in critical race theory and racial microaggressions.
Fourteen Faculty from UCLA Selected to Annual List of Publicly Influential Scholars
The annual list published in Education Week highlights UCLA PLI faculty among national experts on the most urgent issues in education.
Professor Stuart Biegel: 1945-2019
PLI Professor Stuart Biegel taught the first official course on technology law at UCLA and championed equal access for underserved LGBT and disabled populations.
Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) Alumni
PLI is about praxis; it’s about digging deep into the nuances of theory and frameworks, mining for those best practices related to building sustainable, transformational, and equitable opportunities for our students, and executing intentional, social justice-driven plans at the grassroots level within our schools and communities. PLI has dramatically impacted the way in which I view the urban educational landscape today.
D’Anza Smith-Rodriguez
Literacy Coach for School Transformation at Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
I had always been a social justice advocate in my heart, but PLI empowered me with the knowledge and confidence I needed to rise up as a leader in the fight for educational equity. PLI also introduced me to a powerful network of like-minded, visionary educators who are also seeking to create enduring and positive change in urban schools. Together, I believe we can begin to truly and fundamentally disrupt the systems that perpetuate educational inequity in Los Angeles.
Rene Quon
Executive Administrator of Monsenor Oscar Romero Charter School