The National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards form the foundational objectives for ATU’s Educational Leadership program. In addition to the successful completion of all approved coursework, adding the “Building Level Administrator” endorsement (Code 276) to your Arkansas Educator’s License requires the creation of a Professional Portfolio that demonstrates the candidate’s proficiency in each of these standards.
For students pursuing the “M.Ed. in Educational Leadership,” these Professional Portfolios are presented to and approved by a faculty portfolio review committee during the student’s final semester.*
In order to prepare for this exit requirement, you will be creating a comprehensive collection of materials (a.k.a. – artifacts) throughout this program. The links below are provide to help you understand the expectations for this comprehensive project and how to effectively and efficiently plan ahead. Details regarding formatting and submission of these materials can be found here.
Portfolio Rationale– Here’s one graduate’s explanation for the rationale (and importance) of the Professional Portfolio. She outlines how this summary document contributed to her success as an educational administrator. Note: When this was written, she had just spent a semester serving as an Assistant Principal under an ALCP plan. Today, she is the highly-successful principal of an Arkansas high school.
Portfolio Requirements – This document outlines all expectations for the Professional Portfolio. It describes both the expected content and the required format in detail. Please note that you may finalize Standard 8 even if the final stage of your Internship has not yet been completed. Note: Your completed Portfolio should be composed of nine files … one for each Standard and one containing all your Reflections.
Artifact (sample) – This document provides a visual sample of how each component of the Professional Portfolio should look. This example is based on Standard 6, often one of the most difficult Standards to describe and document.
Reflections (sample) – This document provides a visual example of correct formatting for the eight-part Reflections file. If desired, it can also serve as a template. Please note that this sample does not model the length of the reflections. At minimum, each reflection should be at least a page or so (to adequately cover the topic) … but no more than two pages.
Should you have any questions about this state-mandated requirement, contact the EDLD Program Director for clarification.
*Professional Portfolios are not required for students in the “endorsement only” (certificate) program.