Aspiring Principal Fellowship

The Aspiring Principal Fellowship is Los Fresnos CISD's premier leadership development program designed to prepare assistant principals for the transition to the principalship. Grounded in the Principal Readiness Criteria and the district's Profile of a Leader, the Fellowship provides authentic leadership experiences, executive coaching, principal shadowing, and targeted professional learning that build the confidence, competence, and leadership capacity needed to successfully lead a campus. 

Unlike traditional leadership development programs, the Fellowship is built on the belief that principals are developed through authentic experiences, purposeful coaching, and intentional reflection. 

🎯 Authentic Leadership Experiences

   Lead with Purpose

Leadership cannot be developed through workshops alone. Fellows strengthen their readiness by leading meaningful campus initiatives, completing stretch assignments, and and taking on principal-level responsibilities that build authentic leadership capacity. 

🤝 Executive Coaching & Feedback

  Grow Through Reflection

Every Fellow receives intentional coaching and meaningful feedback from experienced principals and district leaders. Coaching conversations encourage reflection, refine leadership practice, and accelerate professional growth throughout the Fellowship.

👥 Principal Shadowing

  Experience the Principalship

Fellows observe experienced principals as they navigate instructional leadership, organizational management, stakeholder engagement, and strategic decision-making. These experiences provide valuable insight into the daily realities and responsibilities of campus leadership.

📚 Readiness-Focused Professional Learning

  Learning with Purpose

Professional learning is intentionally aligned to the Principal Readiness Criteria and designed to complement authentic leadership experiences. Each session equips Fellows with practical strategies, tools, and frameworks they can immediately apply in their current leadership role.

The Aspiring Principal Fellowship is intentionally designed around the 70-20-10 Leadership Development Model, recognizing that meaningful leadership growth occurs through authentic experiences, strengthened through coaching and reflection, and supported by purposeful professional learning. Every component of the Fellowship is intentionally aligned to the Principal Readiness Criteria, ensuring Fellows develop the knowledge, skills, and leadership dispositions needed to confidently lead a campus. 

70% | Authentic Leadership Experiences

Leadership is developed through experience. Fellows strengthen their readiness by leading campus improvement initiatives, facilitating leadership teams, coaching assistant principals and teacher leaders, leading strategic campus work, participating in principal shadowing experiences, and assuming authentic principal-level responsibilities beyond their current role.

20% | Coaching & Feedback

Leadership growth is strengthened through purposeful coaching, reflective conversations, and meaningful feedback from experienced principals and district leaders that support continuous professional growth and principal leadership development.

10% | Professional Learning

Professional learning provides practical leadership strategies, tools, and frameworks that Fellows immediately apply through authentic leadership experiences throughout the Fellowship.

Leadership Readiness by Design

Every experience is purposeful. Every experience builds readiness.

Every leadership experience, coaching conversation, principal shadowing opportunity, and professional learning session is intentionally aligned to the Principal Readiness Criteria. This intentional design ensures Fellows develop the confidence, competence, and leadership capacity necessary to successfully lead a campus.