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Academic Programs

Progressive Leadership Program (Online)

MSEd, EdM

  • Program Overview

    The Progressive Leadership program prepares future leaders to become the next generation of courageous advocates for educational excellence, equity, and social justice.

    Through this master’s degree program, you will join a dynamic and powerful network of changemakers who reflect the diversity of our society and who are committed to driving educational justice and equity. Our community includes candidates from diverse grade spans and school settings, including public, charter, independent, and community-based organizations. Together, you will learn to become bold leaders and courageous advocates for educational equity who celebrate and value diverse voices, backgrounds, and individual talents. You will gain a vision for a brighter future and the tools to create and sustain the nurturing schools that all children and families deserve.

    Our Approach
    Since 1989, the Progressive Leadership Program has been at the forefront of preparing educational leaders who develop the strengths and possibilities of schools. Our online curriculum is interactive, personalized, and experiential. Courses and fieldwork are firmly rooted in constructivist pedagogy, where experiential, humanizing, and liberatory leadership is not just theoretical, but put into practice.

    Throughout your journey, you will be guided by a distinguished group of faculty and advisors made up of current and former school leaders. You’ll collaborate with an on-site mentor, a dedicated faculty advisor in one-on-one meetings, and in a small peer advisory group to plan and develop projects for your fieldwork.

    Upon graduation, you will be equipped for a range of educational leadership roles in schools and district settings that focus on school reform and educational equity, including education administrator, assistant principal, principal, coach, director, dean, curriculum leader, and consultant. Your legacy in educational justice begins here. 

    Online teacher during class at desk with computer

  • Admissions Requirements

    In addition to the main admissions criteria, there are additional requirements needed to apply for this program:

    • Applicant must demonstrate three years of paid, full-time work experience as a classroom teacher (must be as a head teacher or lead teacher, not as an assistant or associate teacher) or as a pupil personnel professional. Pupil personnel positions are (as defined by New York State):
      • School Attendance Teacher
      • School Counselor
      • School Dental Hygiene Teacher
      • School Nurse-Teacher
      • School Psychologist
      • School Social Worker
    • One letter of recommendation must come from a supervisor (Assistant Principal, Principal, Site Director, Head of School, etc.).

    This program is fully online, so you will engage in the use of technology. You must have a dedicated computer or tablet and stable Internet access. You will be expected to become familiar with the online tools, reach out to ask for support as you navigate the technology, and strengthen your presence and skill set in the online environment.

  • Coursework

  • Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement

    Supervised fieldwork/advisement lies at the heart of a Bank Street education. Through sustained experiences in the field, supervision from core faculty, and close collaboration with peers, our graduate students develop the ability to connect theory to practice and to reflect deeply on their own growth as educators. In this program:

    • You will be supervised by a Bank Street advisor who is/has been an experienced school leader.
    • Supervised fieldwork extends over the full duration of the program and is generally located at the site where you currently work, with visits from your advisor and mentoring from your site supervisor.
  • Faculty

  • Certification

    Completion of the Progressive Leadership program leads to:

    • New York State School Building Leader (SBL) certification for those who meet experience requirements and pass the state assessments.

    Graduates of the Progressive Leadership program are eligible to take our 5-credit School District Leader sequence and be eligible for:

    • New York State School District Leader (SDL) certification for those who meet the experience and credit requirements, and who pass the state assessments.
Meet our alumni
One of the most important lessons I learned was that no one can impact change without support. This program encouraged me to create and develop relationships with people through teaming, building capacity, being clear with expectations, providing actionable feedback, and creating systems to check and ensure quality.
Kofi Edusei, Jr. - Progressive Leadership '21
Meet Kofi Meet Our Alumni
Jeanette De Jesus, Progressive Leadership '21, Bank Street Graduate School of Education
Meet our alumni
I am proof that we have an opportunity through education to empower young people to change their lives. And as a teacher, I realized that I needed to keep walking the walk. Getting a degree in leadership was transformative for me.
Jeanette De Jesus - Progressive Leadership '21
Meet Jeannette Meet Our Alumni
Bank Street alumnus, GSE '15, and Executive Director of the Police Athletic League (PAL) Carlos Velazquez
Meet our alumni
What Bank Street allowed me to do was to understand the administrative and the leadership part of community work. It gave me a better insight into how to merge the needs of two populations—the youth and the teachers who serve the youth.
Carlos Velazquez - Progressive Leadership '16
Meet Carlos Meet Our Alumni
Carolyne Quintana, deputy chancellor of teaching and learning opportunities at NYCDOE and Bank Street graduate
Meet our alumni
When I started at Bank Street, I already knew the value of supporting strengths-based, learner-centered, and equitable education practices to help influence positive learning outcomes for all students and educators. What I added from the Bank Street approach was ensuring that learning is experiential—and that's what I’ve always believed in as a human being, a sibling, and a child of immigrants. If we meet folks where they are and give them the opportunity to learn hands on, that’s how everyone learns and grows.
Carolyne Quintana - Progressive Leadership '08
Meet Carolyne Meet Our Alumni
Meet our alumni
It was Bank Street’s leadership program that taught me how to truly listen to people and how to be consciously thoughtful and kind, and it’s how I now lead my school.
Asya Johnson - Educational Leadership for Change '12
Meet Asya Meet Our Alumni
Princess Francois
Meet our alumni
Bank Street helped me refine my leadership skills and empowered me to become not just a school leader, but a transformational, innovative one.
Princess Francois - Educational Leadership '15
Meet Princess Meet Our Alumni

The Next Generation of Leaders

Our graduates stand out among other graduates in their depth of experience and level of knowledge. They become school principals, superintendents, district leaders, administrators, directors, and more. As part of the next generation of educational leaders, they’re prepared to see the strength within every student—and every school, and every teacher—and transform it into progress.