Professor Marty Krovetz, who teaches educational leadership at San José State University, has worked to design and coordinate a master's program, and the 29 local teachers are enrolled.

The program started in 1997 in the Oak Grove and Campbell school districts, said Krovetz. After speaking with more than 100 teachers, Krovetz learned that they not only wanted to earn a master's degree, but also to learn how to become stronger leaders in their districts. There are currently five groups of South Bay teachers enrolled in the program, who come from about 20 different school districts.

"I've always wanted to advance in the education area with curriculum development," said program participant Robbin Cohn, who teaches a fourth- and fifth-grade combination class at Saratoga Elementary School. "This was an opportunity we couldn't turn down."

The classes are creating healthier school districts with more informed teacher leaders and better resources, Krovetz said. There are 400 teachers who have either enrolled or graduated from the two-year (four-semester) program, with about 125 more teachers graduating this May. Krovetz also said a book about the program's success is under way.

The students will graduate—assuming they pass the class—with a master's degree in teacher leadership and the first part, known as Tier 1, of their administrative credential. In other words, some graduates of the program could be on their way to becoming principals and superintendents.

In addition to a basic teaching credential, California public school administrators are required to hold a two-part administrative services credential. The second part, or Tier 2, at San José State involves applying administrative skills in real-world settings, plus a final assessment and portfolio presentation.

But the teachers are not attending classes on the San José State campus, which Krovetz said they enjoy because it allows them to avoid the crowded downtown 7th Street parking garage. Instead, they attend classes within their own districts.

"It's doable. The students don't have to find their way down to San José State. It saves them time and energy," said Mary Gardner, retired superintendent of Saratoga Union School District.

Gardner and Cindy Ranii, current superintendent of Los Gatos­Saratoga Joint Union High School District, are team-teaching one of the five groups—with 29 students—at the high school's district office, located on Farley Road in Los Gatos.

"They really respect each other and have a good relationship with those teacher leaders," said Krovetz about Gardner and Ranii.

The master's program class of 29 students, which meets Wednesdays from 4 to 8 p.m., is titled "School Administrator: Fiscal and Legal Leadership." Ranii said she's learning a lot by working with an exemplary educator like Gardner, and Gardner said she likes the common ground they have.

"Cindy is really good at case study. We are philosophically very similar in what we believe about the purpose of schooling," Gardner said.

Ranii teachers the fiscal and legal sections of the curriculum, while Gardner focuses more on human resources. Gardner added that three of their 29 students are concurrently involved in administrative internships while attending the master's program classes so they can legitimately work as administrators. Saratoga High School Assistant Principal Brian Safine, who is one of those three students, said it's helping him to prepare to work as an administrator this academic year.

"This was an ideal situation," said program participant Rosalie Chako, who serves as a project advisor for Saratoga Union School District. "It will open doors for all of us. Right now the pool of administrators is so small. If an opening comes up, we'll be ready to step into it."

From a superintendent perspective, Gardner and Ranii said they are increasing the potential of administrators coming from their own district employees.

"In many school districts, the turnover of administrators is very high," Krovetz said, adding that administrators today are burdened with high stress and long hours.

Ranii said she hopes the teachers take away an understanding from the class that everyone can become a leader.

"They can make powerful contributions to make our schools and our districts professional learning environments," Ranii said.

Gardner noted that one disadvantage of the program is that the teachers are all facing similar issues because they come from the same districts. There is little cross-mixing with a wider geographic area, except for one Saturday each semester when the students attend class at the San José State campus.

To prevent the superintendents from grading their own employees, Gardner oversees students from Los Gatos school districts, and Ranii grades the students from Saratoga school districts. There are also teachers participating in the class from neighboring Loma Prieta and Campbell Union school districts.

"I find it extremely invigorating, and I love being a teacher," said Ranii. "I've been a teacher all my life, and this class keeps me current with the teaching process."

In class on Sept. 3, the 29 students learned about and actively engaged in the legal framework that governs school categorical funds through a presentation by guest lecturer Steve Lopez, director of educational services for Los Gatos­Saratoga Joint Union High School District. The students also learned how educational bills go through the legislature and gave current-event presentations related to their respective districts on topics such as fundraising, No Child Left Behind legislation and proposed teacher strikes in Campbell.

The major project the class is working to complete is known as an action research plan, where teams of classmates work together to research something they want to change about their school.

"It's intended to help teachers see ways they can study and work to change their schools," Gardner said.

Vicki Brown, a second- and third-grade teacher at Lexington School, is working on an action research plan with Megan Mahoney, a fourth-grade teacher at Louise Van Meter Elementary School, and Kandy Matoza, a third-grade teacher at Daves Avenue School.

The three teachers are researching reading comprehension and how to take students who are not reading at their grade level and push them ahead through programs such as reader's workshop. So far, Brown said they have completed only the first of six parts in the plan, a mere 25-page rough draft. But Brown said she's glad she's taking the class.

"It was time to get my master's degree, and this was very accessible," Brown said. "It turns out I love it. It's interesting, thought-provoking and a great learning experience."