Professional Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Professional Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Lifelong learning to change the world.

Professional Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) serves more than 18,000 educators around the world each year through a robust portfolio of 100 programs for early childhood, K-12, and higher education professionals. A vital part of the HGSE community, we aspire to provide transformative adult learning experiences by bringing together diverse professionals, connecting them with each other and with HGSE’s leading faculty and research, and engaging them in important problems of practice. Our team of professionals and educators is grounded in our core values and driven by HGSE’s mission: to prepare leaders in education and to improve student opportunity, achievement, and success. At HGSE, we are committed to three strategic priorities: cultivating innovators and leaders, collaborating on questions that matter, and communicating with the field. Chaired by HGSE faculty and grounded in the latest research, our Professional Education programs are designed to make a direct impact on the practice of education professionals, the work of schools and institutions, and the lives and learning of students.

10/15/2026

If we're judging a library by its mums, Gutman gets an A+. 🍂

10/13/2026

When Tori Mulligan looked at Manor Lakes P-12 College's track record with new initiatives, he saw a familiar pattern: good ideas introduced with energy, then quietly shelved as "someone's pet project," never quite embedded into how the school actually worked.

So this year, he brought the research-backed Data Wise Program to his executive team to help fix that pattern for good. As he puts it, Data Wise is deliberate, specific, and built for fidelity. In a large P-12 system, that means grappling with harder questions: how do you build a community where every person is known and belongs? Whose stories get told, and who gets to tell them?

At the Data Wise Australia institute, Mulligan's team walked away with newly built trust, a shared understanding of their "why," and a strategy to lead with confidence. In their own words, it was the single most important thing they've done as a team, and a foundation they expect to cascade across the whole system.

Welcome to the Data Wise family, Manor Lakes P-12 College. We can't wait to see where this leads.

Ready to bring Data Wise to your team? Join us for the next in-person institute, which combines three days of in-person learning on January 11-13, 2027, followed by online coaching sessions through June 2027. Applications close November 30: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/professional-education/program/data-wise-leadership-institute

10/09/2026

Everyone enjoyed the beautiful day in the Yard yesterday 💚 and still green a week into October!

10/07/2026

Public education is noisy right now. Louder debates, more competing voices, and a superintendent sitting at the center of it all.

Matthew Montgomery, Superintendent of Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115 in Illinois, is in his 13th year in the role. When he participated in the Superintendent as Civic Leader institute, he came away with a sharper way to lead through it: "There is a lot of noise surrounding public education today. This program helped me become more intentional about leading through that noise. It provided a framework for understanding the different voices in a community, building relationships across differences, and staying focused on the work that matters most for students."

His takeaway is one we hear often from participants: the superintendency is, at its core, a civic leadership role. It asks leaders to listen closely, understand their communities, and create the conditions for people to move forward together.

Superintendent as Civic Leader runs November 12–14, 2026. Applications close tomorrow on October 8: https://bit.ly/4AtXuaU

10/05/2026

A peek behind the scenes: we recently filmed with Jonathan Paul, faculty chair of Higher Education Finance for Academic Leaders (FIN).

Paul is Chief Regional Operations Officer at OneGoal and previously led strategic financial planning as Assistant Vice President for Finance at Harvard University.

FIN is for higher ed leaders who don't work in finance but make decisions that depend on it. You'll build the financial fundamentals to navigate funding pressures and explain tough budget choices to faculty, trustees, and donors.

It's a fit for vice presidents, deans, and directors of admissions, enrollment, marketing, financial aid, student success, and more, as well as finance leaders who want to engage better with non-financial colleagues.

📍 On campus November 19-21
⏰ Apply by October 15
Learn more and apply: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe/fin

10/03/2026

Superintendents are asked to be administrators, communicators, conveners, and the calm in the room, often all in the same day.

Libby Bonesteel, Superintendent of Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools in Vermont, says the Superintendent as Civic Leader program helped her define her role beyond district administrator, toward being a positive agent of change for the whole community:

"We worked towards understanding multiple perspectives and using that knowledge to craft the message so that we can positively influence outcomes to benefit kids."

She also points to the room itself. Skilled, caring facilitators made it a safe place to challenge ideas and be vulnerable, and the program connected her with dedicated superintendents from across the country. In her words, it "certainly widened my network and understanding of the work."

Superintendent as Civic Leader runs November 12–14, 2026. Applications close October 8.

Learn more and apply: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/professional-education/program/superintendent-civic-leader

10/01/2026

Happy October! 🍂 The leaves are turning, and so are our application deadlines. Here's what's closing this month:
Superintendent as Civic Leader: October 8
Certificate in School Management and Leadership: October 9
Higher Education Finance for Academic Leaders: October 15
Universal Design for Learning: October 20
CEEL Learn D Modules: October 23

If one of these has been sitting in your "later" pile, later is now. Search programs here: https://bit.ly/4cOv7qO

Powered by big ideas, great colleagues, and a very reasonable amount of coffee ☕ Happy International Coffee Day!

09/29/2026

09/25/2026

"I'm not the Black superintendent. I'm not the superintendent for the north side or the south side. I'm everyone's superintendent." That's Russell Booker, describing what it actually takes to lead a school district today.

Our faculty chair Jennifer Cheatham just wrote about it: the superintendency isn't just an instructional role anymore; it's a civic one. Superintendents are being asked to steward vision, resources, relationships, and the next generation of leaders, all at once, often in the middle of political storms they didn't create.

That's exactly what the Superintendent as Civic Leader program prepares people to do. Our next session runs November 12–14, and applications close October 8.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4AtXuaU
Read Cheatham's full piece: https://bit.ly/3SMIqnF

Address

13 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA
02138

Telephone

+18005451849

Website

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/ppe

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