Leadership Initiative for Tomorrow’s Schools (LIFTS), Administration Certification
Building trust and developing effective relationships is at the core of effective leadership. Prepare to lead a school or district with an administration certification.
Change Starts With You
Whether you enter our school building leader or school district leader programs, LIFTS will put you in real-world situations where you’ll gain critical skills. A focus on diversity, equity and inclusion puts you in a position to recognize systemic inequity—and find ways to overcome it.
A New Chapter
Cassandra Wright spent nearly 20 years as a special education teacher in the Buffalo Public School (BPS) district. It’s a position she thought she’d never leave. But a principal who noticed herleadership skills suggested she consider attending UB’s Leadership Initiative for Tomorrow’s Schools (LIFTS)—which opened the door to a career in administration. “My LIFTS experience was invaluable, as I realized my core values and non-negotiables,” said Wright, now associate superintendent of school leadership at BPS. “The LIFTS program helped me understand who I am as a leader and through LIFTS, I identified the passion that drives me and the issues I refuse to negotiate over."
LIFTS provides extensive networking opportunities that often turn into jobs: The program has a 71% placement rate for all certified graduates.
Relationships are at the core of LIFTS. You’ll build lifelong connections not only with your cohort, but the experienced local school and district leaders who support you.
Combine classroom instruction with real-world experience as you examine current issues and problems of school and district practice.
Program Summary
Find details about application deadlines and requirements, courses and more. Have questions? Contact our admissions office.
| Academic credential granted | Administration Certification |
|---|---|
| Credentials required for admission |
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| Credits required |
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| Time to completion | 2 years |
| Location | SBL/SDL – all courses on campus |
| Clinical internship hours | 600 |
| Application deadline | Summer admission only May 1 |
School Building Leader (33 credits)
- ELP 604 Law and Public Education
- ELP 606 Changing Social Contexts for Educational Leaders
- ELP 607 School and District Capacity Building
- ELP 625 Studies in Educational Leadership
- ELP 629 Human Resources and Labor Relations in Education
- ELP 647 Educational Planning, Budgeting and Data Analysis
- ELP 652 Leadership and Policy for Inclusion
- ELP 658 Clinical Seminar: Internship
- ELP 659 Clinical Seminar: Internship
- ELP 664 Teacher Evaluation and Supervision
- ELP 681 Curriculum & Instructional Leadership
School District Leader (36 credits)
- ELP 604 Law and Public Education
- ELP 606 Changing Social Contexts for Educational Leaders
- ELP 607 School and District Capacity Building
- ELP 625 Studies in Educational Leadership
- ELP 629 Human Resources and Labor Relations in Education
- ELP 635 Leading an Effective School District
- ELP 647 Educational Planning, Budgeting and Data Analysis
- ELP 652 Leadership and Policy for Inclusion
- ELP 658 Clinical Seminar: Internship
- ELP 659 Clinical Seminar: Internship
- ELP 664 Teacher Evaluation and Supervision
- ELP 681 Curriculum & Instructional Leadership
Clinical Experiences in Educational Leadership
You are expected to complete a 600-hour clinical internship experience, either one academic semester full-time; one summer full-time plus one academic semester part-time; or two academic semesters part-time. Except in unusual circumstances, the clinical internship will take place in the last two semesters of the program.
- Master's degree from an accredited institution
- Permanent or professional certificate in classroom teaching service or pupil personnel service
- Minimum three years of teaching experience
Submit your completed online application, which includes:
- Application fee: A $50 non-refundable application fee, submitted electronically through UB's ePayment system.
- Contact information for at least three individuals who will each be asked to provide an electronic recommendation letter.
- Unofficial transcripts from all colleges attended. (UB transcripts are automatically submitted for current UB students and alumni.)
- Diversity statement: In a personal essay (double spaced) of no more than 500 words, please share how you, as an educator, respond to issues pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Be sure to include one or two specific examples from your current practice.
- Statement of education and career goals
Former/Maiden Name: Please provide us with your former/maiden name if you have one. When requesting transcripts, please ask the sending institution to indicate your current name and former/maiden name.
Admission Decision: The admission decision will be communicated to you as soon as review is complete. The decision is based on a number of factors and is the result of a thorough and deliberate process. All decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
In-State Residency Tuition
In order to qualify for the in-state residency tuition rate, you must provide residency documentation indicating you have lived in New York State (NYS) 12 months before your semester start date.
If accepted, you will need to upload three documents to qualify for the in-state tuition rate. See Required Documents for Residency Application for more information.
International Applicant Additional Requirements
- Official original proof of your degree
- A copy of your passport biographical page
- Official test scores—dated within two years of submitting your application—for either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Academic Test, the PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic, or DET (Duolingo English Test).
- TOEFL minimum score is 250 for computer-based test, 600 for paper-based test and 79 for internet-based test
- IELTS Academic Test minimum score is 6.5 overall
- PTE minimum score is 55 overall
- DET minimum score is 120 overall
- Financial documentation: International graduate applicants must document their ability to pay for all costs incurred while studying in the U.S.
- An official bank statement
All financial forms and supporting documentation with required signatures must be uploaded with your application and dated within one year of your intended enrollment date.
Graduates go on to become:
- Assistant superintendents
- Superintendents
- School building leaders
- School district leaders
New York State prides itself on the high quality of its licensed and certified professionals. For the protection of its citizens, each license and certificate has requirements that individuals must meet in order to be licensed or certified in New York State. SUNY’s academic programs leading to licensure or certification are carefully designed to meet and exceed these State requirements. This is a role SUNY plays in protecting the public. Other states frequently have their own requirements, so if your goal is to practice in another state, this disclosure will help you check to see what that state requires.
Enrolled students and prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact their state’s licensure entity using the links provided in the full disclosure document to review all licensure and certification requirements imposed by their state(s) of choice.
Confronting Race, Class and Power in a Bilingual School
GSE Researcher Publishes Case Study in Journal
A family-school liaison working to cultivate deeper relationships between a bilingual elementary program and the families it served encountered entrenched challenges exacerbated by white supremacy, according to research published by GSE researcher Jasmine Alvarado in the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.
In the paper, “A Family-School Liaison’s Negotiation of Racialized Scripts for Family Engagement,” Alvarado found the educator was hampered by a lack of support and resources that could be traced to long-standing inequities in the distribution of legal, social and material rights. By focusing on topics such as gender, culture and race, UB researchers are helping students, educators and leaders identify and contest deep-seated inequities.
Faculty Expertise
Erika McDowell, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, knows where educators should turn first to upend a legacy of inequality in schools: Within themselves. McDowell, once a teacher and district-level leader in Philadelphia, now works with other educators through the LIFTS administration certification program. Here, she urges teachers and leaders to build safe, inclusive spaces for learners—but also understand their own needs as well. “We’ve got to dismantle the system so we’re all valued in the system,” she said.
Resources
Program Accreditation
UB is a member in good standing of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP), a national accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The programs on our accreditation page have been awarded full accreditation by AAQEP through Dec. 31, 2028. Full accreditation acknowledges that a program prepares effective educators who continue to grow as professionals and has demonstrated the commitment and capacity to maintain quality.