CCSD Partnership strengthens Department

Dr. Chuck Salina, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Administration, recently found an opportunity to serve Catholic educators through our master’s program offered in Canada. Calgary Catholic School District is the largest district in Alberta and is fully funded by the provincial government. The district has 105 Catholic schools that serve 51,000 students and employ over 6,000 individuals. Dr. Salina and Judy MacKay, Superintendent of Area C Schools, have partnered to integrate the District’s Leadership Academy with Gonzaga’s Master of Education (School Administration) program.

This integration is an ideal fit as Gonzaga’s program is designed for working educators with a focus on linking theory and research to the practical issues in leadership using their local school districts as the context for study. Year-long programs are offered by the District within a system of modules to provide participants knowledgeable skills and dispositions to increase their abilities to lead within a Catholic context. Dr. Salina and Ms. MacKay will team-teach two courses that allow students to integrate their learning from the district modules with GU courses. The program will begin in fall 2014 and the Calgary Catholic Session #1 will integrate with EDLA Professional Experience and EDLA Professional Literature Review. In Dr. Salina’s courses he will analyze what they have learned in the field and apply in their graduate level work.