An experienced educator and educational administrator, Suzana Ustabecir has served for more than 15 years with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), first as a middle school math and science teacher and then as a principal. For the past year, she has served CPS as an instructional effectiveness specialist. In addition to her work with CPS, Suzana Ustabecir remains actively affiliated with the New Leaders organization.
Formerly known as New Leaders for New Schools, New Leaders is dedicated to training transformational principals and other educational leaders. It launched its flagship program, Aspiring Principals, in 2001.
Seeing that principal training and preparation was often disconnected from the real world of schools and classrooms, New Leaders designed Aspiring Principals to help school principals lead with an approach that enables teachers to grow and students to learn. The program takes place in three basic stages. The training stage consists of a three-week Summer Foundation, one to two in-person group training sessions per month, various online tutorials, and one to two years of induction support.
The practice stage consists of a yearlong residency that includes both team participation and leadership. Finally, the feedback stage consists of multiple one-on-one critical sessions with an expert coach.
