Professional Learning and Leadership Development

Los Angeles Administrative Services Credential

The Los Angeles Administrative Services Credential (LAASC) program is a job-embedded, CTC-approved clear administrative services credential program that meets the new two-year induction requirements. The LAASC program is rooted in the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSELs) and the LAUSD School Leadership Framework. Participants receive a minimum of 40 hours of support from an assigned LAASC coach each year. The LAASC coaches engage in regular calibration using the effective practices outlined in the coaching competencies rubric.

For more information:
Maura Crossin

Alum of the Month

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Program Overview

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between a growth goal and a SMART goal?

A growth goal is a performance-based way for candidates to demonstrate competency and mastery over each CPSEL standard. A SMART goal is an example of how to write the growth goal. LAASC uses the SMART approach as a way to formulate a growth goal. The information below may be used to help develop a SMART goal.

Specific: When drafting your goal, try to answer the five "W" questions:

What do I want to accomplish?
Why is this goal important?
Who is involved?
Where is it located?
Which resources or limits are involved?

Measurable: A measurable goal should address questions such as:

How much?
How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished (as measured by or as evidenced by)?

Achievable: An achievable goal will usually answer questions such as:

How can I accomplish this goal?
How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as financial factors?

Relevant: A relevant goal can answer "yes" to these questions:

Does this seem worthwhile?
Is this the right time?
Does this match our other efforts/needs?
Am I the right person to reach this goal?
Is it applicable in the current socio-economic environment?

Time-bound: A time-bound goal will usually answer these questions:

When?
What can I do six months from now?
What can I do six weeks from now?
What can I do today?

2. How might you explain the Induction Flowchart on page two of the LAASC Handbook?

LAASC is a CTC accredited program and this visually captures all of the components to successfully complete the requirements for a clear administrative services credential within the two-year time frame. The Induction Flowchart is a brief visual overview of the LAASC Program and its requirements.

The requirements include the Individual Induction Plan/Professional Learning Log (IIP/PLL), Problem of Practice (PoP), Self–Assessment (Beginning, End of Year One, and End of Program), Professional Development, and 60-90 hours of Professional Learning including 40 hours of coaching per year.

3. Does the growth goal need to capture all elements (3 or 4) of the CPSEL standard?

No. The growth goal is developed to address at least one element from the CPSEL. There are opportunities where a growth goal captures two or more elements in a CPSEL especially in CPSELs 1 and 2, where the elements are interconnected and tend to build one another; CPSEL 3 has four unique elements that do not necessarily build on one another.

4. What differences can I anticipate between the first and second years of the LAASC Program?

There are many parallels between years one and two. There are some differences you can expect

Year One	Year Two
Draft six growth goals for IIP/PLL	Draft six new growth goals for IIP/PLL; Y1 goals may carryover upon consultation with your LAASC coach
PoP (p. 12-13 LAASC 3.0 Handbook): Introduction, Research Topic, Research Questions, Baseline Data, Literature Review, Action Plan	PoP: (p. 13 LAASC 3.0 Handbook): Review new data, Reflect, Revise Action Plan, Conclusion and Implications, Leadership Conference (poster presentation)
Self-Assessment: Initial and EOY 1	Self-Assessment: End of Program
Create 10 posts (p. 14 LAASC 3.0 Handbook) to hold evidence—Year One E-Portfolio on MyPLN	Create 10 posts (p. 14 LAASC 3.0 Handbook) to hold evidence—Year Two E-Portfolio on MyPLN
40 hours of coaching	40 hours of coaching
4 Induction Days	4 Induction Days
30 hours of Professional Learning	30 hours of Professional Learning
End of Year Reflections	End of Year Reflections

5. My assignment changed and my roles/responsibilities are different. What about the goals I set, evidence collected, and my Problem of Practice?

The time of year and where you are with your activities on the LAASC program timeline, you may continue with modified growth goals and PoP OR you may have be required to draft new goals/PoP related to your new role. Your coach will work with you if this is your situation to determine next steps. Keep in mind, LAASC is a highly individualized program tailored to each candidate’s professional learning and development.

6. What’s the difference between a coach and, say, a mentor?

Coaching: The International Coach Federation (https://coachfederation.org) defines coaching as “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Mentoring: A simple, broad definition of mentor is “an experienced and trusted advisor.” BusinessDictionary.com (http://www.businessdictionary.com) defines mentoring as an “Employee training system under which a senior or more experienced individual (the mentor) is assigned to act as an advisor, counselor, or guide to a junior or trainee. The mentor is responsible for providing support to, and feedback on, the individual in his or her charge.”

If you wish to know more about the Coaching Competencies Rubric LAASC coaches use to plan, deliver, and reflect on the work, please CLICK HERE. One way to understand how LAASC structures coaching relationships is through a comparison of features it shares with traditional mentoring found in table below.

Feature	Coaching	Mentoring
Timeframe	CTC requires 40 hours/year for two years, yet we find many LAASC coaching relationships last longer depending on goals achieved.	Relationship tends to be more long-term, lasting a year or two, and even longer.
Focus	Conversations are highly intentional rather than just friendly or informal interactions is more development driven, looking not just at the professional’s current job function—but beyond—and takes a more holistic approach to the candidate’s growth and development.	Mentoring is sometimes more performance driven, designed to improve the professional’s on-the-job performance in a specific area.
Structure	Traditionally more structured, with regularly scheduled meetings e.g.; weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.	Commonly, meetings tend to be more informal, sometimes on an as needed-basis by the mentee.
Expertise	LAASC Coaches are hired for their proven leadership success in the role of Principal.	Mentors may have more seniority and expertise in a specific area than mentees. The mentee learns from and is inspired by the mentor’s experience.
Agenda	The coaching agenda is co-created by the coach and the coachee in order to meet the specific needs of the coachee and LAASC program requirements.	The mentoring agenda is set by the mentee. The mentor supports that agenda.
Questioning	Asking thought-provoking questions is a top tool of the coach, which helps the coachee make important decisions, recognize behavioral changes and take action.	In the mentoring relationship, the mentee is more likely to ask more questions, tapping into the mentor’s expertise.
Outcomes	Outcome from a coaching agreement is specific and measurable, showing signs of improvement or positive change in the desired performance area.	Outcome from a mentoring relationship can shift and change over time. There is less interest in specific, measurable results or changed behavior and more interest in the overall development of the mentee.

7. Are there exemplars of the IIP and the POP that I can use to help my thinking?

While there are no Exemplars, there are Examples of the Individual Induction Plan/Professional Learning Log (IIP/PLL) and the Problem of Practice (PoP). The work reflects the candidate’s current experiences as they relate to the continuum from the Descriptions of Practice. These examples demonstrate acceptable work on each of the two documents. They are posted in MyPLN in your cohort resource folder inside of the "Examples Folder" or you may access them by clicking here.

Keep in mind that your best resource for the IIP/PLL and PoP is your coach. Regular meetings and coaching conversations will help keep you on track with all LAASC requirements.

8. What recommendations would you give candidates for pacing themselves with the workload?

We recommend that as a first step, you review the LAASC Two-Year Professional Learning Matrix in the Handbook, page 3, to ensure that you are aware of the recommended pacing plan for LAASC activities. The pacing plan includes months and corresponding activities.

During Induction Days, there is usually time set aside for structured work time. We recommend you take full advantage of that time to work on your IIP/PLL, POP, uploading to MyPLN, and potentially Reflections.

Successful LAASC alumni have shared that they blocked weekly 30-60 minute, uninterrupted, work time in order to stay ahead of program due dates and to stay on target for completion. Some also formed study/work groups with colleagues in order to support and encourage each other.

It is also recommended that you keep all of your LAASC files/documents on one computer that you most often use and create folders to help organize documents. This makes it easy to quickly locate and transfer files to MyPLN.

9. Do all the actions and professional learnings need to be connected/aligned to the CPSEL growth goal?

No. At a minimum, at least one of the action steps needs to align to your CPSEL growth goal. However, be sure to analyze how the growth goal relates to the other CPSEL standards, and see if any other action steps could be used to meet the goal. Professional Learning can be related to the growth goal, but it is not required. Be sure to explore the professional learning you are engaging in as you work towards meeting your growth goal.