Redesigning Lessons, Re-envisioning Principals (RLRP) is an alternative pathway to principal certification developed by Advance Innovative Education, in partnership with Louisisiana State University’s E. J. Ourso College of Business, area school districts, independent schools and charter schools.

The goal of RLRP is to inspire individuals to become principals who are social entrepreneurs and operate schools as successful organizations. RLRP is one of three BESE-approved alternative certification programs in Louisiana – and the only one that is state-wide.

Teachers who want to become certified principals (Educational Leader I Certification).

Non-educators with three years of organizational leadership experience interested in charter school leadership.

Qualifications: To be considered for RLRP, all candidates must submit a complete application. Following the application, candidates undergo a four-step interview and screening process. Group interviews with leadership simulations, phone interviews, writing samples, and a comprehensive application package ensure candidate quality and commitment.

The Coursework: Includes 300+ hours of professional development expertise in business & education. Participants learn about innovative practices to become social entrepreneurs who lead schools to academic success by focusing on the unique needs of each individual school and the students (student are considered “clients”) of that school.

The Residency: RLRP is a non-traditional approach to on-the-job training. All participants experience a full-time administrative residency in a school, which includes 125+ days of in-school experiences and cohort based learning seminars. Trained coaches and mentors provide support for RLRP Participants.

Beyond RLRP: Participants will join a national network of like-minded entrepreneurial school leaders with the capacity to tackle the challenges of either repairing broken systems or creating ones that work.

To get a list of everything you must submit to apply for RLRP, visit the Application Process page.

AIE is currently recruiting members for our next RLRP Cohort.

Please note that individuals who have obtained a teaching certification through an alternative pathway to certification are offered a discounted application fee of $35 for the regular application deadline (add $10 for the late application fee).

Program fee covers the following:

• Personalized coaching
• Cost for School Leadership Licensure Assessment (SLLA) Preparation
• Online coursework

This fee does not cover the following:
National conference: registration and accommodations (options available in Louisiana)
SLLA Exam fee

Contact us today to learn more! 

RLRP candidates undergo a rigorous application and selection process designed to produce candidates that possess the most leadership potential in leading teachers and students to academic achievement.

To ensure candidate quality and commitment, we have a four-step interview and screening process with RLRP:

• Comprehensive Application Package
• Phone interviews
• Group interviews with leadership simulations
• Writing samples

Research shows many new school leaders are discovering that traditional certification programs do not effectively equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as an educational leader in the 21st century.

Rather than use a traditional approach and then expect participants to be innovative, RLRP’s structure “models the model.”

The cohort structure reflects the development of a learning community.  The inquiry method is the core of the program, encouraging self-reflection and critical analysis, among all involved—including mentors and coaches. The result is confidence and skills required to be educational entrepreneurs.  Frequent, cumulative assessments tied to the Standards for Educational Leaders in Louisiana assure that candidates are developing skills and behaviors that will make them effective leaders.

RLRP develops “eduprepreneurs” who focus on the “double bottom line,” ensuring that schools are always focused on their mission and producing results for their clients (students), while at the same time generating the revenue required to operate the core business and reinvest profits into new or expanded services.

Dr. Jeff Cornwall, an RLRP faculty member from Belmont University, describes this concept in The Entrepreneurial Educator, “The entrepreneurial attitude is recommended to school managers of public schools, private schools, or public schools managed for profit. The entrepreneur recognizes that change brings opportunities rather than threats, reacts to change proactively rather than reactively, actively fosters creativity beyond the classroom, uses less formal and centralized authority, distinguishes between a good idea and a good idea with a specific market with a feasible financial margin, develops well constructed business plans, and is able to forecast as well as budget.”

Participants who successfully pass the SLLA exam will receive Educational Leader I Certification. The SLLA is based on Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards and is designed to measure whether entry-level principals and other school leaders have the knowledge necessary for competent professional practice. Candidates who complete RLRP will be prepared for all of the modules on the exam. For more information on the SLLA, visit: http://www.ets.org/sls.

RLRP’s curriculum and assessment tools are aligned with the content of the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA). To ensure that candidates are being provided appropriate knowledge and skills to achieve success on the SLLA, evaluators will perform three types of assessments:

• Responses to various possible scenarios that a principal faces
• Case study work and participation in required meetings and courses
• Participants’ portfolios

RLRP does not offer a Master’s Degree with certification.