The State University at Fredonia has done the right thing in putting its educational leadership program on hiatus as the program is revamped.

SUNY Fredonia’s existing program was struggling to attract enough students to continue the program in its current incarnation. Students currently enrolled in the program will finish at the end of the semester and will be the program’s last students until it is brought back. While university officials are still working to design the new course, it will likely feature more online courses with some face-to-face class meetings. Given the winters in Chautauqua County, doing as much of the classwork as possible online can only be a good thing.

It makes sense that the program should be retooled. After all, as education changes, so too has the role of principals and others in the leadership of local school districts. Any new educational leadership program needs to teach not only the general management, school laws and administrative requirements educational leaders need to know for their new jobs, but techniques to help improve their school’s teaching and learning environments. It is the sort of change New York state is mandating anyway as part of its change from the 2008 Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards to the 2015 Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELS).

We hope the SUNY Fredonia program comes back quickly. It is easier for many to take the courses through SUNY Fredonia than it is to take them through St. Bonaventure, in Buffalo or in Erie. We also hope the program takes suggestions from area school superintendents and can be tailored to better meet the needs of area schools. Halting the program may be difficult in the short-term, but it could be immensely beneficial in the long-term.