Leadership Preparation

The IMPACT Arkansas Fellowship is a non-traditional school leadership preparation program provided by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction of the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions. The fellowship’s purpose is to prepare future leaders of low-income schools throughout Arkansas. Each Fellow receives a Master of Education in Educational Leadership upon completion of this 18-month program. IMPACT graduates have achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment. Those accepted into the fellowship receive a scholarship which pays for 80 percent of all tuition and fees.

Individualized Online Courses

Throughout the fellowship, candidates take individualized online courses delivered by professors in the U of A’s Education Leadership program while also participating in relevant professional learning experiences. Fellows are supported and coached throughout the process by IMPACT Arkansas Fellowship staff while applying learned content to school-based initiatives aimed at improving collaboration and instruction.

Program Requirements

The IMPACT Arkansas Fellowship was designed to benefit low income schools throughout Arkansas by preparing future leaders. Applicants must have at least three years teaching experience and work for a school in which at least 70% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Upon acceptance into the program, IMPACT Arkansas Fellows commit to staying at their school for two years post-graduation.

The application period runs from Sept. 1 to mid-January each year.

Details on applying

Use this button to help grow support for IMPACT Arkansas Fellows through the Educational Leadership Program in the College of Education and Health Professions. Every gift matters!

Nearly 150 IMPACT fellows across seven cohorts represent 122 schools in 81 districts and eight charter systems, impacting thousands of teachers and students in rural, high-poverty Arkansas schools. Here are some of their stories.

University of Arkansas News featured the program in the Nov. 27, 2023, article “Rural Eastern Arkansas Educators Gain Leadership Skills Through IMPACT Principal Fellows Program.”

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