New Leaders National Aspiring Principals Fellowship

The National Aspiring Principals Fellowship offers City Year alums

A clear pathway to principal licensure in 40+ states with a program designed with leaders of color for equity-focused teachers

• Discounted tuition for all who enroll in the January 2024 cohort
• Accredited principal certification and Master’s in Educational Leadership options for aspiring school leaders in 40+ states
• Equity-centered curriculum designed with minority-serving institutions so you learn to lead with a social justice mindset
• Program designed for full-time teachers with largely asynchronous online content and a residency completed in your current role at your current school
• Real time feedback from experienced, personal leadership coaches and like-minded peers from your national cohort of equity-focused educators
• Access to network of 6,000+ alumni and support services including individual principal placement support after graduation

Why City Year loves the National Aspiring Principals Fellowship

The National Aspiring Principals Fellowship is an online principal certification and master’s degree program designed with leaders of color, for equity-focused teachers. The Fellowship equips teachers like you to become ready to move into a principal role, with placement support, in as little as 11 months.

The Fellowship combines New Leaders 20+ years of proven principal preparation expertise with scholarship from pre-eminent minority-serving institutions, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, to deliver an effective, national principal certification program. After just two years, the Fellowship is already one of the largest principal preparation programs for educators of color in the nation.

Data shows that all students benefit when a principal of color is at the helm, but especially Black and brown students. New Leaders developed the Fellowship to not only create a curated program that provides a community and support that addresses the specific challenges teachers of color face on their journey to leadership, but also to close the representation gap in school leadership in service of students across the country.

Program Requirements

Minimum Eligibility:

• 3 years of head teaching/pupil personnel experience
• 2.7 GPA (3.0 preferred) on conferred degrees
• Valid teaching credential or certification
• Master’s degree (if applying for Certification-Only track)

Program Requirements:

• Current employment in a school-based or district-level role allowing for leadership practice
• A school residency site option to complete clinical experience

To apply

Click here to start an application. The final deadline for the Spring 2024 (January start) cohort is December 1.

For help with your application, contact the admissions team at onlineadmissions@fellowship.newleaders.org or click here to schedule 1:1 application support.

To request more information about the Fellowship, complete this form.

To identify your City Year affiliation

All City Year AmeriCorps members and alums should indicate your City Year affiliation in the Request for Information form and your application.

For more information

If you have a specific question or want to learn more, please email Dr. Devon Mann, director of enrollment and admissions, at onlineadmissions@fellowship.newleaders.org

Please note that all admissions decisions are made by New Leaders and its accredited university partners. AmeriCorps members and alums interested in the program must complete the full application process.