On a cold February morning, a dozen aspiring school leaders stepped through the doors of Penn Alexander—a K–8 school in West Philadelphia—and immediately into the kind of learning experience most graduate students only read about in books. For students in Penn GSE’s School Leadership master’s program (SLP), this immersive “leadership inquiry day” wasn’t just a field trip. It was a chance to step into the role of a school leader, study a real problem of practice, and apply the theoretical frameworks they’ve been mastering in class to real-world situations.
Experiences like this are what distinguish SLP from other pathways to school leadership. While many teach theory, Penn GSE ensures students practice it deliberately, authentically, and alongside accomplished principals (like Penn Alexander’s Lauren Overton, GED’16, GRD’24, herself an alum of the program) who model what successful leadership looks like. This direct connection between theory and practice is central to the program’s design, which emphasizes applying learning in real school settings.
“Our hope is that our students have the opportunity to put on their school-leader hat to investigate a problem of practice drawing upon the theoretical practices and frameworks that they've learned in class to really contextualize that learning,” said SLP Interim Director Jessica Richard. “Our leadership inquiry day is about more than simply observing what’s happening in schools. It’s about actively practicing school leadership by examining a real problem of practice through a leadership lens. Students move beyond noticing levels of engagement within teaching and learning to asking why and connecting what they see to leadership theory, adult learning and collective teacher efficacy, and culturally responsive pedagogy. The goal is for students to synthesize their observations, apply the frameworks and course content they’ve studied, consider multiple stakeholder perspectives, and offer thoughtful, practice-grounded insights they can share with the school team.”
SLP offers six inquiry days a year at a diverse array of schools, from public to independent, elementary to high school. Students are required to attend two. This year, one student has signed up to attend five. That’s because it has proved to be so enriching.
“What I saw at Penn Alexander was instructional leadership at its core,” said Karim Najdi, a current SLP student and lower and middle school athletic director at St. Albans School. “In some larger or more complex schools, the work can drift toward operations, logistics, and customer service. At Penn Alexander, the focus remained on teaching, learning, and the development of young people. The adults were centered on the growth of students, not just the management of a schedule. . . . I am grateful to Penn GSE for creating the opportunity to witness that kind of practice up close. It reinforced how powerful it is when a school’s systems, culture, and leadership are aligned around student growth.”
The Inquiry Day model has grown beyond its early design as an observation-based experience. Those visits provided meaningful exposure to school contexts, but Richard saw the opportunity for something deeper, an experience that would move students from observing practice to actively engaging in the thinking and decision-making required of school leaders.
Research shows that immersive, practice based preparation strengthens aspiring leaders’ ability to apply theories in context. So, Richard redesigned these days to be more hands on, more analytical, and more reflective, mirroring the everyday demands of school leadership. Instead of merely watching classrooms, SLP students spend the day examining a school’s real instructional, cultural, or organizational challenge. Working in small groups, they visit classrooms, meet with teachers, listen to student panels, and ultimately synthesize their findings into feedback for the school’s leadership team.
The problem of practice they investigate is chosen by the host principal in collaboration with the SLP faculty. It may be tied to an instructional shift, a curricular initiative, or a schoolwide focus on areas like culturally responsive pedagogy or engagement. Students must identify evidence of the school’s approach, connect it to the frameworks they’ve learned, and articulate constructive insights.
“It’s truly a mutually beneficial experience for both the school and our students,” said Richard. “Schools can sometimes become insular, so having an external perspective, one grounded in research and theory, helps illuminate and affirm the strength of their practices while also surfacing opportunities for refinement. At each visit, we hear a shared sense of gratitude from teachers and leaders, who don’t always recognize the depth of their own expertise. Our students name and highlight the meaningful impact educators are making within their school communities.”
During the recent visit to Penn Alexander, one of two Penn partner schools in the School District of Philadelphia, students noted powerful examples of collective teacher efficacy and culturally responsive practices, both key components of the SLP curriculum. They also observed how the school leveraged its community partnerships and created an environment that supported both students and teachers.
“At the beginning of the day, you can almost see their wheels turning,” said Richard. “By the end, they’re able to conceptualize, analyze, and synthesize what they’ve observed and learned and clearly articulate those insights to the school community.
“In class we practiced dialogue and feedback skills, but going to Penn Alexander put it all into authentic experience in a safe space to develop our craft,” said Marcella Purkey, a kindergarten teacher in the current SLP cohort. “This experience was the most insightful, humanizing leadership experience that allowed me to see what type of school leader I want to be and what positive leadership can do for a school community.”
These inquiry days are just one of the unique aspects of SLP. Its cohort model brings together professionals from public, charter, and independent schools across the nation. Students learn not just from faculty and mentors but from one another, gaining perspectives they may never encounter in siloed school settings.
“One of the most unique aspects of this program is the diverse backgrounds cohort members come in with,” said Purkey. “There are people from all over the country, in different positions within school entities and from various school structures: public, charter, and independent. The diversity this program brings provides depth in knowledge and learning, making it one of the most challenging, transforming, and humbling learning opportunities I’ve had in my educational experience.”
Additionally, each SLP student is paired with a mentor, an experienced school leader—often a program alum—who meets with them regularly, visits them in their own workplaces, and provides individualized feedback on their leadership development. One to one mentoring is a hallmark of the program and reflects the level of support Penn GSE believes future leaders need to thrive.
These relationships become lasting professional partnerships. Mentors observe students’ practice, guide their internship work, and help them design meaningful practitioner research projects, another requirement of the program.
“Having a Penn mentor who is an executive school leader has been incredibly helpful,” said Najdi. “It provides insight into the complexities of the work, a place to test ideas, and guidance that comes from real experience. That relationship has been one of the most meaningful aspects of the program.”
For Richard, the goal is clear: to cultivate highly effective school leaders who can transform teaching and learning, build strong and equitable school communities, and create the conditions in which both adults and students thrive. That preparation requires more than strong coursework. It demands coherence, collaboration, culturally responsive leadership, and consistent opportunities to translate theory into purposeful action.
And that’s exactly what the SLP’s immersive learning model delivers.
Where other programs may talk abstractly about leadership, Penn GSE asks students to practice it—repeatedly, intentionally, and in diverse school contexts. By the end of the program, they don’t just understand leadership frameworks. They’ve lived them.
“Research suggests that principals are second only to classroom teachers when it comes to in-school factors that impact student success,” said Richard. “That really centers the critical need for effective development of school leaders. And I know our students are leaving our program well equipped to transform teaching by drawing upon all of their learnings and centering culturally responsive leadership in their in their practices.”
Photos by Eddy Marenco for Penn GSE.
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