Harvard Graduate School of Education Introduces New Certificate in Early Education Leadership

BOSTON, May 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education announced today that a visionary new Certificate in Early Education Leadership (CEEL) will be offered through the Saul Zaentz Professional Learning Academy. CEEL is designed to offer working professionals in early education an opportunity to deepen their core knowledge, enhance their skills and add to their leadership toolkit through a flexible, online, and job-embedded learning experience.

"Given that only two in 10 children have access to a high-quality early education setting in the U.S., CEEL, through interactive and case-based materials grounded in scientific insights, is designed to equip early education leaders with the core knowledge and tools to navigate the decisions, challenges, and opportunities associated with quality improvement," said Nonie Lesaux, Academic Dean and Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-director of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative. "Our goal is to help leaders and educators deepen and expand their toolkit to improve early learning environments for all young children."

CEEL is designed for state leaders and administrators, leaders of early education service organizations,  directors of early education centers or programs, administrators and coaches in public school pre-K programs, as well as community leaders, philanthropists, grantmakers, and advocates.

"Early education leaders need many more high-quality professional learning opportunities," said Stephanie Jones, Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-director of The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative. "We know that leaders are always looking for new ideas, innovations, and tactics to build their skills and increase their impact. This new certificate is a flexible and job-embedded, online learning experience that will fit with early education leaders' busy lives."

CEEL is made up of three series, and each series contains five modules. Four of these are modules that build participants' core knowledge in key areas, including early learning and development, adult learning, and leadership and management. The fifth module in each series focuses on supporting participants to map key learnings and to create and implement a plan tailored to their site and work. The first module in Series 1, The Science of Early Learning and Development, begins on August 6, 2018. Learn more about CEEL and registration logistics here.

All modules are designed and taught by the faculty directors of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative, Professor Nonie Lesaux and Professor Stephanie Jones.

About The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative
The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is a major investment to drive transformation in U.S. early childhood education. The Initiative promotes the knowledge, professional learning and collective action necessary to cultivate optimal early learning environments and experiences. The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative is supported by a $35.5 million gift from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, one of the largest gifts ever given to a university for advancing early childhood education.

SOURCE Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative