UCLA Principal Leadership Institute logo

Principal Leadership Institute Program Overview

UCLA’s Principal Leadership Institute program (PLI) prepares educators to be social justice leaders in Los Angeles schools who:

  • Advocate for quality learning opportunities;
  • Improve teaching and learning;
  • Promote educational achievement for all students;
  • Create democratic and culturally-responsive learning environments;
  • Build partnerships with parents and community groups.

Through a 14-month program, the Principal Leadership Institute’s graduates become instructional leaders who understand what conditions are needed to promote rigorous, high quality learning. They become adult educators who support the development of teachers and staff, and they become community leaders who have the knowledge and commitment to forge partnerships with parents, grassroots community groups, civic leaders, and organized labor.

 

The PLI program starts during summer and continues through the next summer.

Students attend classes at UCLA while continuing to work with their schools and communities. Through coursework, students engage theory and recent research. Through field work in schools and communities, students grapple with critical questions of practice facing social justice educators.

The PLI program offers a tier-one administrative credential and a master’s degree in education.

We encourage applications from educators with:

  • Five or more years experience as a classroom teacher;
  • Experience working for educational justice with teachers;
  • Experience working for change alongside parents and community groups;
  • A commitment to Los Angeles youth and communities.
Program Overview PDF

Leading for Justice

Applying for the 2025-26 academic year?

The application will be available from mid-September, 2024 through February 1, 2025.

My experience with PLI was deeply insightful and an opportunity to examine and understand by own privileges, biases and stereotypes. The first summer course with Dr. Cooper was the perfect choice to set the trajectory of the program. PLI broadened my outlook and allowed me to understand how systemic racism and organizational structures that are created to uplift white people are embedded in our schools, communities, and country, and how these negatively impact the lives of people of color and those form lower socioeconomic communities on a daily basis. PLI gave me the tools to feel empowered to engage in difficult conversations that address these issues and work towards become an agent of change.”

Faiza Seedat
Faiza Seedat