PAGE Leadership Program
Now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 PAGE program year.
For questions or information, please contact us through our inquiry form.
Bringing Positive Change in Districts
Part of My Identity
“When I am coaching teachers, I can’t NOT look through the lenses of PAGE. I ask challenging questions about how they thought of grouping kids, who had opportunities to be successful in their lessons, who they called on, the language they are using and whether ALL kids could access the task. This work has become a part of my identity.”
I am not the same person
“Leadership is really about culture. The beliefs of the adults in a system have a much larger impact on the outcomes of that system than the technical aspects. Changing culture is immensely emotional and happens incrementally – don’t give up. I have learned content and processes to address the why and how of these shifts. My context has changed. I am not the same person.”
Revolutionize our district
“Adopting the PAGE norms has the potential to completely revolutionize our district. It promises to be a foundation on which to build. The equity strategies we’ve learned will bring voices to our conversations that have not been heard before. This is exciting.”
PAGE is the Science Museum of Minnesota’s flagship program for leaders in K-12 education. Dedicated to supporting diversity, promoting inclusion, increasing access, and achieving equity in educational systems, PAGE is designed to support leaders in bringing about meaningful and lasting institutional change toward greater equity and inclusion within schools and across districts. This transformative program has been developed and refined through multiple awards from the National Science Foundation and focuses on leadership, beliefs, systems, relationships, and complexity.
During PAGE, you will engage with fellow leaders and the IDEAL facilitation team in critical questions and discussions about leading in complex systems and profound ways of bringing about new behaviors and actions in your context. You and your colleagues will develop skills in systems thinking; practice strategies for facilitating highly productive teamwork and collaboration; and examine the relationships between identity, systems of oppression, power, and status.
The PAGE community of educational leaders is powerful. It includes over 40 districts from five states in the Upper Midwest and collectively capitalizes on the wisdom of urban, rural, and suburban contexts. District leaders include superintendents, assistant superintendents, school board members, curriculum directors, Q-comp coordinators, principals, teacher leaders, and instructional coaches. The PAGE community also includes teams from several State Departments of Education.
The IDEAL Center is rigorous in our use of mixed-method evaluation, including reliable, validated quantitative instruments to assess and increase the impact of our Professional Development. The pre/post effect sizes for the KPA Scale Survey show statistically significant effect sizes on critical competencies for access and equity.
PAGE is transformative. This is not only evidenced in our research and evaluation, it is clear in what our participants say. As one district leader put it, “My leadership has been shaped by PAGE PD. I lead my faculty meetings using facilitation strategies. I formulate questions to guide staff to identify disparities. My feedback to staff from either room stop-ins or formal observations are to support the lenses of PAGE. Being aware of systems helps me as I facilitate new initiatives in my school.” Another put it this way, “This experience has been life-changing and career-shaping. It calls me to be something better, someone better than I was before. It has opened my eyes to see things I would have missed.”
Audience
District or school-based leadership teams are eligible to participate in PAGE. Individual team members should 1) have a passion for addressing critical issues of access and equity in education; 2) provide professional development, training, coaching, mentoring and/or leadership to K-12 teachers; and 3) have a district- or school-wide perspective. We encourage teams that are culturally, racially, and economically diverse. For the 11-day Foundations Program (see below) space is limited to 24 participants. District teams are limited to no more than 6 individuals and school teams are limited to no more than 4 individuals. At least one person should be in a formal leadership position in your school (e.g. principal, vice principal) or district (e.g. assistant superintendent, director, and/or consortium of principals). If you would like professional development for a group larger than 6, contact us at IDEALCenter@smm.org to learn more about customized work.
Program Structure
Foundations Program: We will provide approximately 70 hours of professional development across 11 days that are designed specifically for K-12 leadership teams. This meets the requirements for Minnesota professional development clock hours and/or Minnesota Board of School Administrators clock hours.
The five-day Institute takes place July 8-12, 2024, followed by three colloquia November 7-8, 2024; February 6-7, 2025; and April 17-18, 2025. All of the programming will be in-person at Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul.
All program days will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attending all 11 days is essential.
PAGE Veterans Program: PAGE program alumni join the Foundations cohort for the second and third colloquia, meeting on February 6-7, 2025 and April 17-18, 2025, in-person at the Science Museum of Minnesota. PAGE Veterans, register for the colloquia here.
PAGE Veterans will receive approximately 26 hours of professional development across four days that are designed specifically for K-12 leadership teams. This meets the requirements for Minnesota professional development clock hours and/or Minnesota Board of School Administrators clock hours.
Cultural Competency Training requirements for re-licensure: The Minnesota licensing board requires cultural competency training hours for "all individuals with licenses expiring in 2020 or afterward." Your district can approve the PAGE program to fulfill these cultural competency training hours.
Cost
Veterans Colloquia
For teams based in Minnesota, funds provided by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment help support the program, bringing the cost of the four colloquium days to $450 per person. For teams outside of Minnesota, the cost is $850 per person. This fee includes four days of professional development, labor, materials, refreshments, coffee, lunch, parking, and museum passes.
For teams outside of the Minnesota metro area/from Greater Minnesota, the Legacy Amendment will cover mileage/transit costs, hotel, and incidentals.
We would love for you to participate and don't want cost to be a barrier! If cost is an issue, please RSVP and reach out to us at PAGE@smm.org. Financial support is available to ensure participation.
Foundations Program
For teams based in Minnesota, funds provided by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment help support the program, bringing the cost of the 2024-2025 PAGE Foundations program down to $1,500 per person. For teams outside of Minnesota, the cost of the 2024-2025 PAGE Foundations program is $2,500 per person.
This fee includes 11 days of professional development, labor, and materials. Funds are available to support travel expenses for teams from greater Minnesota.
Application Due Dates
Applications for the 2024-2025 PAGE Veterans Colloquia will be accepted on a rolling basis as space allows. Sign up here!
Applications for the 2024-2025 PAGE Foundations Program are due April 30, 2024.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after this date as space allows.
Next Steps
Recruit your team of 2-6 individuals and confirm their ability to participate in the program. Please note that the fifth and sixth team members may be put on a waitlist.
Collectively compose a Team Narrative (suggested 500-word minimum) to the following prompts:
Please identify and describe current equity and inclusion challenges in your district or school.
Describe a vision of how participation in PAGE might inform work on the challenges identified.
Describe the process that was used to identify the proposed PAGE team members.
Include a description of the expectations of each team member to contribute to equity and inclusion efforts in your district or school.
Compose Individual Narratives (suggested 250-word minimum) to the following prompts:
Describe your role as a leader in your district or school.
(This may include your job responsibilities, a description of the teachers with whom you work, structures in place for professional development in your setting, etc. Please also consider including personal and professional experiences, areas of expertise, and/or particular perspectives you bring to the PAGE community.)Describe equity and inclusion issues you hope to learn about and work on in PAGE.
Describe the kinds of leadership opportunities you currently have, or hope to have in the future, in which you can apply what you learn in PAGE.
One application is submitted for your entire team.
Application Deadline
Applications for the 2024-2025 PAGE Foundations Program are due April 30, 2024.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after this date as space allows.