Summer Institute in Education Systems Leadership and Policy
The Summer Institute in Education Systems Leadership and Policy is a week-long interactive seminar in Denver, Colorado designed for current and aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs working in public and private sector organizations engaged in education systems transformation and redesign. The curriculum provides an in-depth introduction to education systems leadership, politics, and policy and offers participants an opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities that come with redesigning how education is organized, governed, and delivered.
New Education Systems Require New Systems Leaders
Education in the United States and around the world is in the midst of significant transformation. Systems built for a different time do not meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and interdependent world.
To manage the challenges and seize the opportunities that come with this change, a growing number of communities are moving away from a centralized, top-down, “one-size fits all” approach to schooling to one designed to facilitate choice and access for students, empowerment and flexibility for educators, and transparency and accountability. From New Orleans, to Indianapolis to Denver, communities are recognizing that it is better to be a master of change than a victim of it. Read more about why we need to prepare a new generation of education systems leaders here. Read about how the pandemic has made this need more urgent than ever here.
Program Overview & Topics of Study
The Education Systems Leadership and Policy Institute is a week-long interactive seminar in Denver, Colorado designed for current and aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs working in public and private sector organizations engaged in education systems transformation and redesign. The curriculum provides an in-depth introduction to education systems leadership, politics, and policy and offers participants an opportunity to explore the challenges and opportunities that come with redesigning how education is organized, governed, and delivered.
Participants will learn in partnership with their peers and with prominent researchers and accomplished practitioners through real-world scenarios and critical dialogue. Potential participants include mid and senior level managers and executives working in non-academic leadership positions in school districts, charter management organizations, state education agencies, community service providers, and advocacy groups.
Participants in the Summer Institute can earn three graduate credits towards an Advanced Certificate or Masters in Public Administration in Education Systems Leadership and Policy from the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. Interested participants may also join a cohort to continue their learning during the school-year through a virtual community of practice.
TOPICS OF STUDY
- The Structure of Education Systems Old & New: the design, operation and governance of public education in the United States.
- Transforming Education Systems: The need to actively manage change. Exploring regulation and deregulation, decentralization, and collective action challenges.
- Funding Old & New Education Systems: Exploring Values, Barriers, and Opportunities
- Performance Management in Complex Education Systems: Flexibility with Responsibility. strategies for managing school improvement, various purposes of measurement and accountability, consider pros and cons of types of data, and balancing accountability and autonomy.
- Governance and Politics in Transforming Education Systems: the role of leadership and managing politics and power dynamics in creating sustainable, responsive, equitable change in school systems.
Instructors
Parker Baxter
Director, Center for Education Policy Analysis
University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs
Paul Teske
Dean & Distinguished Professor
University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs
Past Special Guests
Paul T. Hill
Founder, Center on Reinventing Public Education; Research Professor, University of Washington – Bothell
Howard Fuller
Educator Revolutionary
Pedro Martinez
CEO, Chicago Public Schools
Alex Magaña
Executive Principal, The Beacon Network
Marguerite Roza
Director, Edunomics Lab, Research Professor Georgetown University
Sonja Santelises
CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools
Derrell Bradford
President, 50CAN
Robin Lake
Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education, Arizona State University
Anne Rowe
Former President, Denver Public Schools Board of Education
Mary Seawell
Former President, Denver Public Schools Board of Education
Chris Stewart
CEO, brightbeam
Allegra “Happy” Haynes
Former President, Denver Public Schools Board of Education
Roberto Rodriguez
Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education
Mohammed Choudhury
Chief Innovation Officer, San Antonio Independent School District
Cliff Chuang
Senior Associate Commissioner for Educational Options, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Chris Gibbons
Founder & CEO, Strive Prep
Rashid Davis
Founding Principal, P-TECH Early College High School
Van Schoales
Founder, A+ Colorado
Curtis Valentine
Deputy Director, Reinventing America’s Schools Project, Progressive Policy Institute
Andrew Rotherham
Co-founder and Partner, Bellwether Education Partners
What will you get? Participants in the Summer Institute can earn three graduate credits towards an Advanced Certificate or Masters in Public Administration in Education Systems Leadership and Policy from the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. Interested participants may also join a cohort to continue their learning during the school-year through a virtual community of practice.
WHEN?
July 14-18, 2025
WHERE?
University of Colorado Denver
School of Public Affairs Denver, CO
WHO?
Current and aspiring education system leaders; Rising and Senior Level Leaders Engaged in Education Systems Transformation and Redesign. Potential participants include mid and senior level managers and executives working in academic, operational, and financial leadership positions in school districts, charter management organizations, state education agencies, and aspiring and current school board members and. superintendents. The Institute is also well-suited for current and aspiring leaders, policy analysts and advocates in the fields of early childhood care and education, court-involved youth, community and social services, health care, housing, youth and family well-being, and other areas of public sector practice, policy and advocacy. Teachers, school leaders, and parents are especially encouraged to apply.
TUITION?
$3,950*
*Includes three graduate credit hours in Education Systems Leadership and Policy from the CU Denver School of Public Affairs. Tuition discounts are available for groups of participants. Partial and full scholarships are available for currently enrolled CU Denver students and for highly qualified applicants who have a demonstrated commitment to expanding and improving educational opportunity and who provide evidence of their openness, curiosity, imagination, and courage.
Praise for the Institute from Past Participants
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This experience was amazing.”
” I cannot thank you enough for this opportunity. This week floored me. You and your guests challenged everything I thought I knew and provided me an entirely new way of seeing education systems.”
“The dynamic you create in the room over the course of the week is something special. I don’t think I’ve ever had another learning experience quite as engaging, thought-provoking, or as powerful as the Institute.”
“The topics we explored this week and the questions we discussed could not be more relevant to the challenges education systems face right now. What I’ve learned will impact me and my work for a long time. I’m inspired by your passion and sense of urgency and possibility.
“The instructors really know their stuff. They are engaging and professional, and they were beyond supportive and encouraging throughout the seminar.”
“It’s really hard to create a safe space for difficult conversations, and I think the instructors did a truly courageous job in trying to make that happen.”
“The ‘lineup’ was even more impressive than I’d anticipated – it was nice to learn among professionals who were eager to both share their knowledge and listen to others.”
“So informative for the systems work I am doing now. Great learning from others in the room.”
“I felt like there was a ton of knowledge in the room and a group of people who all wanted to better themselves and the world.”
“The highlight of the program for me was the people that were brought together. I learned a great deal from the other participants both as they talked about their local context as well as how they would approach some of the challenges raised.”
“I loved meeting people who are in systems leadership from around the country. It was great to hear about what is happening in Denver and how systems can adapt to the needs of a city.”
“The Institute was a truly incredible learning experience. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the historical, current, and future challenges facing education systems, and the kind of leadership needed confront and overcome them.”
New Research from the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs.
Systemwide and Intervention Specific Effects Denver Portfolio District Strategy
Learn more here:
publicaffairs.ucdenver.edu/cepa
Watch a presentation of the findings here:
Watch a conversation hosted by Parker Baxter, director of CEPA @ CU Denver SPA and former Denver superintendents, United States Senator Michael Bennet and Tom Boasberg. Senator Bennet and former superintendent Boasberg reflect on their experience leading the transformation of Denver Public Schools and their newly published white paper offering lessons from their work.
Read their white paper, “Leading for Equity and Student Growth: from the transformation of the Denver Public Schools” here:
publicaffairs.ucdenver.edu/cepa
Apply Now
The program is designed for current and aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs working in public and private sector organizations engaged in education systems transformation and redesign. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and experiences.
Please complete the form below to start the application process or to request more information. If you are applying for the program, please include a description of your current work and your interest in attending. If you are interested in receiving three graduate credits from the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs upon completion of the course, please state so below.
