Evaluating an Educator Leadership Program in Massachusetts
School leaders, particularly principals, are key to shaping productive learning environments, supporting high-quality teachers and teaching, and influencing student outcomes. One educator leadership program in Massachusetts has shown great promise in its effort to drive meaningful change, promote student success, and retain leaders.
During the 2023-24 school year, numerous Massachusetts Early Career Principals implemented the Equity Leadership Accelerator Program (ELAP), a two-year program which uses evidence-based mentoring, induction, and preparation practices to improve leadership practices.
Program Implementation and Impact Study
AIR evaluated the implementation and impact of ELAP and early results from the first year provide valuable insights for future program development.
On average, principals in their first five years as school leaders self-reported improvements of core leadership practices following their participation in ELAP in six dimensions (setting direction, monitoring progress, reorganizing systems, building capacity to teach, lead and collaborate).
“[My mentor] helped me to figure out or practice how to have hard conversations, anything that I was nervous about doing. … She’s a role model in leadership for me and her willingness to talk through it all before I had to do it was invaluable.
Key impact study findings:
- After one year of ELAP programming, Early Career Principals had higher retention rates in their district compared to leaders of similar schools, especially among novice leaders and those working in high-need schools.
- There were no notable differences in school climate between schools with ELAP Early Career Principals compared to leaders of similar schools after one year.
- ELAP impact on student achievement in English language arts and math after one year was not statistically significant overall meaning that there were no notable differences between students in schools with an ELAP trained leader and students in similar schools without an ELAP trained leader.
The self-reported improvement in Early Career Principals’ leadership practices following participation in ELAP and the positive impact on school leader retention emphasizes the program's potential as a tool for talent development and retention within districts.
ELAP was developed by the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity (CLEE). As a next step, in spring 2026, AIR will examine ELAP impact on student outcomes, school leader retention, and school climate two-years post program implementation.
The study teams appreciates everyone who made contributions to this research, including Abena Acheampong, Melissa Arellanes, Jill Bowdon, Melissa Brown-Sims, Peter Coyne, Kendell Daughtry, Sonica Dhillon, Jasmine James, Angela Johnson, Eric Larson, Stephanie Levin, Burhan Ogut, and Martyna Citkowicz.
