What is the Missouri Leadership Development System for new leaders?

The Missouri Leadership Development System is a state-wide system of support and learning designed for new principals to help build their leadership capacity, and is offered at NO-COST! MLDS was first introduced in the 2017-18 school year with over 720 principals state-wide participating in regional cohorts. In the Southwest Region 46 new principals participated in the MLDS Emerging Level.

MLDS content will offer support to principals in the following areas:  relational, innovative, visionary, managerial and instructional leadership! School leaders will be a part of a regional cohort where networking and time to learn from area colleagues is a key part of our time together in addition to focusing on the leadership standards through highly engaging learning experiences.

Who participates in the Emerging Level  MLDS?  

The MLDS Emerging Level is offered at NO-COST and supports new leaders in years 1-3, or for a leader new to a district, and includes: assistant principals, principals of elementary, middle, and high school or new alternative school administrators!

What does MLDS do for new leaders?

The Emerging Level cohort meets for two years and helps the leader complete the two-year certification requirement for mentoring for new leaders. The SW Regional MLDS leadership specialist is Annette Cozort.  Annette facilitates the cohort and can provide new leaders with a mentor to meet certification requirements and provide on-going guidance.   

MLDS SW Regional meetings will be held throughout the year and include three regional meetings and two coaching labs (held at school sites).   Regional meetings consist of learning experiences that principals can use to build leadership capacity, and are practical applications that can be used with school teams.  MLDS is aligned to the leadership standards and covers 32 competencies that all leaders need to know to be effective.

 So…How does a new leader get started with MLDS?

Registration is open for the first cohort meeting on July 27^th (Friday), 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.at the Park Central Office Building/MSU in Springfield, Room 112 on the first floor.   The first learning experience will help principals prepare for the “Critical Firsts” of a new school year.  If you are a new leader or know someone who is, please pass along this information and registration link.  Please follow the link to sign up or contact Annette Cozort, MLDS facilitator at acozort@missouristate.edu or fill out the contact form below.