To make significant strides in K–12 education, we need bold leaders who can transform schools and districts to meet the ambitious standards set for all students. These leaders must be able to take on innovative roles and spearhead nontraditional organizations, such as charter schools and nonprofit agencies focused on K–12 reform.

The Stanford Center for Leadership in Education (SCLE) is at the forefront of preparing these leaders. SCLE works closely with the Center for the Support of Excellence in Teaching to create programs that help today's school and district leaders develop the expertise and entrepreneurial vision to undertake much-needed reform, such as the yearlong Stanford Principal Fellows Program and the Leadership for Equity and Accountability in Districts and Schools network.

The center is also helping train the next generation of K–12 leaders, by bringing new depth to three unique master's degree programs: the School of Education's Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) program and two pioneering joint degree programs that combine a foundation in education with expertise in business or law.

Additionally, SCLE works closely with the Center for Education Policy Analysis to shape rigorous research on issues that have a direct impact on the effectiveness of education leaders.

SCLE draws on Stanford's strengths in organizational management and change, expertise in instruction and education reform, and long-standing entrepreneurial tradition. The center links faculty scholars with leaders from the field and provides academic researchers with valuable evidence to develop new knowledge on the organizational structures that effectively support systemic reform.