Executive Education

Public Education Leadership Program

Through a collaboration between Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, this leadership development program was established to help leaders from urban school systems drive improved performance by applying proven management concepts to the unique challenges of their districts.

What You Can Expect

Participants explore how to develop, communicate, and implement a strategy that achieves excellence across all school districts by drawing on in-depth analysis of management and leadership best practices in successful school districts, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

Your Course of Study

District teams will engage in dynamic discussions on how to establish a culture of cooperation, high expectations, and accountability for their school systems. In addition to developing new leadership and management skills, participants will have opportunities to interact with other multilevel leadership teams from across the country.

Who Is Right for the Program

The Public Education Leadership Program is designed for teams of eight participants, including district office personnel, school principals, and regional supervisors, who are responsible for urban school systems with at least 30,000 enrolled students.

Public Education Leadership Project

In the fall of 2003, faculty and staff from the graduate schools of education and business here at Harvard joined together to examine how the art and science of management could help public schools improve student performance. The Public Education Leadership Project evolved from that question. The PELP Coherence Framework illustrates that all organizations are integrated systems with interdependent parts. To achieve success, all elements must directly link to the work of teachers and students in the classroom. PELP believes that a coherent strategy and a focus on the implementation of that strategy at all levels of an organization can improve student achievement across a district.

Social Enterprise Programs

Read more about all of the social enterprise offerings at HBS Executive Education.

Social Enterprise Initiative

By integrating social enterprise-related research, teaching, and activities into the daily life at HBS, the Social Enterprise Initiative plays a critical role in supporting the School's mission to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.

What You Can Expect

Drawing on in-depth analyses of management and leadership best practices in successful school districts, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, participants will explore how to:

• Develop, communicate, and implement a strategy that achieves excellence across all district schools
• Create a coherent organization to implement the improvement strategy
• Build and sustain high-performing district teams
• Enhance both individual and group leadership skills
• Adapt effective practices from other participating districts

How Will My School District Benefit?

Going far beyond the basic transmission of skills and theories, this offering provides applicable lessons within the classroom that can be implemented successfully across your school district. The program is designed and taught by Harvard Business School (HBS) and Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) faculty who are leading authorities in their respective fields. As recognized thought leaders on crucial management issues, they maintain dynamic relationships with the highest-performing urban school systems, nonprofit organizations, and corporations worldwide. Moreover, you will find yourself immersed in learning with a diverse and collaborative group of public education leaders whose insights and perspectives will contribute to your learning both during the program and well beyond. You will have access to a valuable professional network of PELP participants. Additionally, you will return to your school with the tools, skills, and confidence to refine your management model, develop new strategies, and improve the performance of your school system.

Your Course of Study

Building on the highly acclaimed PELP model, the HBS and HGSE faculty will engage district teams in dynamic discussions on how to establish a culture of collaboration, high expectations, and accountability for their school systems. This groundbreaking curriculum equips participants with new leadership and management skills and the knowledge to develop strategic goals that deliver measurable results. Participants also will have numerous opportunities to interact with other multilevel leadership teams from across the country. Core topics include:

Making Strategy and Coherence Concrete

• Apply a framework to help district leaders understand how their cultures, systems, and environments reinforce one another and support strategy implementation across all schools
• Build a coherent organization that enables people at all levels to implement their piece of the strategy
• View districts as integrated systems with interdependent parts that directly link to the work of teachers and students in the classroom
• Establish a collaborative process for designing a plan that principals and teachers can use effectively

Attracting and Retaining the Best People

• Develop and manage human capital
• Recruit the best people for hard-to-staff schools
• Align the recruiting process with the district strategy
• Improve leadership capabilities at all levels

Managing for High Performance

• Build strategies for effective, long-term administrative performance
• Apply performance data to guide decisions and measure accountability
• Allocate resources to align with achieving strategic goals

Creating A Culture of Performance

• Establish a culture of performance that values results more than efforts
• Analyze data to improve performance
• Motivate the best teachers and administrators to take on the most challenging assignments

Who Is Right for the Program

The Public Education Leadership Program is designed for teams of eight participants, including district office personnel, school principals, and regional supervisors, who are responsible for school systems with at least 30,000 enrolled students. Teams from returning PELP districts must have one member who has attended a previous PELP program; teams that do not meet this requirement must include the district superintendent as a team member.

Typical participant titles may include, but are not limited to:

• Superintendent
• Other central office administrator
• Principal
• Union president
• Teacher leader
• Community liaison
• School board member

Meet the Program Faculty

Harvard Business School Executive Education programs are developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors who are skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Faculty leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking on many levels. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.

Other Participating Faculty

Richard Elmore, Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Educational Leadership. Director, Consortium for Policy Research in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

David A. Thomas, H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration. Head of the Organizational Behavior Unit.

Admissions

Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.

Fees, Payments, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.

No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.

If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

Requirements

Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.

HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.

Language Proficiency

We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.

Application Process

Participation in this program requires that the school district’s superintendent or designee submit a letter of interest. Upon admission notification, individual members of that district’s team may apply online. For more information, please contact the Public Education Leadership Program at pelp@gse.harvard.edu or +617-496-1819.

Complete Your Application

Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.

The application for each team member must be received before the team's materials are reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

Meet the Deadlines

We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.

Notification of Acceptance

We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.

The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.

Need help?

For further assistance, contact: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Matt Tallon, PELP Program Coordinator, Email: pelp@gse.harvard.edu, Telephone: 617-496-1819, or client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).