By Peter Hall, LPA specialization candidate

After years of teaching French and Spanish in a public high school north of Boston, I found myself as the head of a language department of 15 teachers of six languages. Although I was able to learn much of what I needed on the job, there were some areas for which I felt unprepared.

The LPA specialization at MIIS was a unique program that was specific to administration within a language context that could give me the credentials and foundation I was lacking. As I already held a Master’s Degree in Spanish and a teaching certificate from the State of Massachusetts, I was in a unique position as the majority of LPA specialization candidates are enrolled in a Master’s program at MIIS. This required some creative solutions to complete the program. Fortunately, two of the required courses are offered online, Intro to LPA and Language Teacher Education, which I was able to complete from Boston while teaching.  Dr. Kathi Bailey also orchestrated the opportunity to take Language Teacher Supervision via SKYPE during the fall semester. Although we had a few technological glitches, taking the course via SKYPE was advantageous because I could apply what I was learning in class directly to my job.  By completing three courses prior to arriving in Monterey, I was able to take a one semester leave of absence from my job to come to MIIS to complete the specialization.

With the LPA certificate in hand at the end of May, I can return to Boston and comfortably take on a more administrative role or perhaps other doors will open.

Language Program Administration Certificate (LPA)

The LPA certificate program prepares students to administer language programs or schools. It includes courses in teacher education and supervision, budgeting, accounting, and marketing. The LPA certificate is not offered by any other TESOL program in the US.