MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University has been recognized for its excellence in preparing Minnesota’s principals, as well as for its significant market share within the state for preparing educational administrators.

Each year in October, Minnesota school districts are required to report to the Board of School Administrators (BOSA) on the success of their probationary principals. This information is then presented to the state legislature.

According to the most recent BOSA report, which compiles information about whether or not probationary principals from 2020-21 were offered a continuing contract, graduates of Saint Mary’s Education Specialist (Ed.S.) program rank the highest in percentage of candidates in the “proficient/accomplished” category — at 84%.

The data also reflects Saint Mary’s market share as 27%, significantly higher than the other 12 universities providing licensure preparation programs in the state.

“These data points provide overwhelming evidence that Saint Mary’s Ed.S. program and our graduate certificate in Educational Administration K-12 Principal are doing an outstanding job preparing today’s education leaders,” said Craig Sundberg, program director for Saint Mary’s Ed.S. and M.A. in Educational Leadership programs. “Our flexible format, combined with our rigorous and relevant curriculum are designed to set our graduates up for success.”

“Saint Mary’s Ed.S. program has enjoyed a strong reputation throughout the state for many years,” said Michael Hahn, Ph.D., assistant dean of the school of education. “With the $1.7 million investment from the Kern Family Foundation to infuse character and virtue education throughout the Ed.S. program, we are confident that we will meet our goal of forming future educational administrators who are not only fully competent but also people of character who will serve students and communities well.”

“With almost 1,200 students, the school of education offers a number of strong programs, whether it is initial teacher licensure programs, graduate programs for practicing teachers, or our doctoral program in educational leadership,” said Mike Lovorn, Ph.D., dean of the school of education. “My vision for the school of education is that we build on our long-standing strengths as a Lasallian Catholic university to continue to meet the current needs of educators in the state.”

For more information about the Ed.S. program and how to apply for the program, please contact Nate Higgins at nhiggins@smumn.edu.