Program Director

Ruth Barratt, Ph.D.
Office: R-105
Phone: 414-277-2230
Email: barratt@msoe.edu

MSOE’s Rader School of Business and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation partnered to create the MBA in Education Leadership program. The innovative program is targeted at teaching professionals, principals and vice principals with a minimum of three years of PK­12 teaching experience who wish to advance in school leadership roles.  On successful completion of the program qualified participants receive both a Masters of Business Administration and Wisconsin State Principal Licensure. 

The program is also recommended for K12 administrators and business managers who wish to enhance their leadership skills through a specialist MBA.The program, which serves the needs of public, private, charter and choice school emerging leaders, blends the best of leadership development, business, and educational administration. Two key themes woven through the program are the elimination of the global student achievement gap through better school leadership, and the development of school cultures that support positive character education.

The MBA in Education Leadership is a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction approved program for principal (51) Licensure that offers educators an alternative to traditional Master of Education Administration degree programs. The program is based on a school partner model that involves existing school leadership and MSOE program faculty in the definition of field projects that will advance important school initiatives and provide an authentic embedded learning experience for students.

Program Faculty

Dr. Ruth Barratt, Dr. Rachel Boechler, Melinda Davies, Dr. Kathy Faggiani, Patricia Kramer, Paul Nistler, David Schmitz, Chris Thompson.

Admission Requirements

Admissions to the MBA in Education Leadership program is rolling throughout the year. Cohorts begin in July and January each year. In addition to meeting the general graduate program requirements , all candidates for the MBA in Education Leadership must meet program-specific requirements, which are listed in the Graduate Admission Requirements  section of this catalog.

Master of Business Administration in Education Leadership (MBAEL)

1. Receive a reference from the applicants’ principal, superintendent, headmaster or charter organization officer stating support for the applicant’s ability to progress into a vice principal or principal role within three years.

2. Submit one other letter in addition to above of recommendation, from an employer or supervisor who can describe the candidate’s leadership potential.

3. Admitted students must work full time during completion of the program as a teacher or school leader in a Wisconsin K12 setting.

4. Applications are rolling throughout the year each year. With admittance twice yearly in January and July.

5. Have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution.

6. Have completed a Wisconsin DPI approved educator preparation program, or a Wisconsin approved educator preparation program in another state or country.

7. Hold, or be eligible to hold, a Professional Educator License in teaching or pupil services.

8. Have three years of successful, fulltime classroom teaching experience, or three years of successful experience as pupil services professional including 540 hours of classroom teaching experience.

9. Submit a current resume that details all professional and teaching experience.

10. Be willing to participate in an in-person interview.

Master of Business Administration in Education Leadership (MBAEL) (Non Principal Track)

1. Submit two letters of recommendation, from an employer or supervisor who can describe the candidate’s leadership potential.

2. Work as an administrator or leader in a K12 environment.

3. Have earned an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution.

4. Request that official GRE or GMAT scores be sent directly to MSOE must indicate sufficient preparation for graduate study.

5. Submit a current resume that details all professional and K12 experience.

6. Be willing to participate in an in-person interview.

Types of Acceptance Allowed

Applicants to the MBA in Education Leadership Program may only be accepted in full acceptance status, with no allowances for conditional or probationary acceptance in the program.

Program-Educational Objectives

At MSOE, program educational objectives refer to what graduates of the MBA in Education Leadership program are expected to achieve within several years of program completion:

• Rise to significant leadership positions in PK-12 education.
• Direct innovative educational initiatives and formulate policies using sound analytical skills and evidence-based practice.
• Lead educational change efforts to raise the achievement of all students, with a particular focus on eliminating and preventing the global achievement gap in PK-12 education.
• Demonstrate the on-going integration of effective leadership traits and ethical principles into personal and professional personas.
• Build and sustain relationships among diverse constituents, stakeholders, and policy makers that foster a culture conducive to high student achievement.
• Develop the next generation of teachers who will continue to pursue global excellence in student achievement.
• Manage school environments to foster student achievement, realize staff development, and nurture the public trust while creating and sustaining an ecology that fosters positive character formation.
• Influence and enact Wisconsin school law and education policy to enhance the learning environment.

Student Outcomes

The student outcomes refer to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions that program graduates will possess at the time of program completion. These are organized into the broad categories shown below that align with the Wisconsin Administrator Standards (1­7) and enact two key themes within the program: elimination of the global achievement gap (8) and character formation (9).  All program graduates will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding and competency in teacher standards.
2. Lead by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared by the school community.
3. Lead by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to pupil learning and staff professional growth.
4. Ensure management of the organization, operations, finances, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
5. Collaborate with families and community members to respond to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilize community resources.
6. Act with integrity, fairness and in an ethical manner that models strong character for the school and community.
7. Demonstrate an understanding, respond to, and interact with the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural contexts that affect schools and learning.
8. Apply evidence based leadership practices to identify and resolve barriers to student achievement and eliminate achievement gaps.
9. Identify, develop, and sustain a school and community culture  that supports character formation.