A group of teachers from the Carter County and Unicoi County school systems are heading back to the classroom themselves over the next few months for a unique collaborative training.

Carter and Unicoi County school officials are working together to host the “Aspiring Principals Academy” to help train and prepare teachers to take on leadership positions in the schools. The class met last week for the first of seven monthly sessions.

“The purpose of the Aspiring Principals’ Academy is for participants to gain a greater understanding and knowledge of the many aspects of being a school leader,” said Dr. Jeri Beth Nave, Director of Federal Projects for the Carter County School System. “Our target audience is school system personnel who hold a valid Tennessee Administrative License and have not yet had the experience as a head principal.”

This is the first time Carter County has ever offered a training program like this for those employees who are hoping to become principals according to Nave. In years past, much of the training for new principals occurred after they assumed the role and had to learn on the go.

“We wanted to put something together to help them be prepared,” Nave said. “We recognize how difficult the principal’s job is and what all it entails.”

Carter County and Unicoi County partnered together to create the training program as a way to help employees in both systems to prepare. Currently,  a total of 25 “students” are enrolled in the academy — 16 from Carter County and nine from Unicoi County. The group meets once a month with classroom locations alternating back and forth between Carter and Unicoi Counties.

“This is also a great networking opportunity for the individuals from the two systems,” Nave said.

During the course of the training program, the teachers will cover a variety of topics including: leadership; school organization and design; using data effectively; relationships; teaching and learning strategies; and instructional tenacity. The participants will be asked to complete projects monthly as part of the program and will be expected to share their results with the group.

The instructor for the academy is educational consultant Bobby Ashley.

“He has worked with us on several projects over the last six or seven years,” Nave said. “We’ve had a lot of good projects with him.”