Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Preparing Highly Qualified School Leaders Illinois Benchmarking Report November Preliminary Report Betty Fry, Leadership Research and Publications Cheryl Gray, Leadership Curriculum Development and Training Learning-Centered Leadership Program Southern Regional Education Board Atlanta

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Benchmarking Progress  Where Illinois now stands in achieving a cohesive, learning-centered school leadership system  How Illinois compares to pacesetter states in the sixteen-state SREB region  Recommendations for further action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Core Components of a Learning- Centered School Leadership System  Learning-focused leadership standards  Purposeful recruitment and selection of future school leaders  Preparation that emphasizes the principals’ responsibilities for curriculum, instruction and student learning  School-based experiences that expose candidates to the real-world challenges of school leadership and prepare them to solve difficult problems  Licensing that serves the public’s expectation for improved school and student performance  Professional development that continually develops expertise in school improvement  State and district conditions that motivate and enable principals to affect improvements in teaching and learning

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Indicators of Progress  Adopt learning-focused leadership standards  Recruit and select future leaders  Redesign leadership programs to emphasize curriculum, instruction and student achievement  Develop programs with school-based experiences that prepare participants to lead school improvement  Base professional-level licensure on improved school and classroom practices  Create alternative pathways to initial licensure  Provide training and support for leadership teams in low-performing schools

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Rating the State’s Actions: Baseline Implementation of a Learning-Centered Leadership System No action - no actions that addressed the criteria Minimal action - limited or emerging actions that addressed (or had potential for doing so) the criteria Some action - some, but not a majority of, actions that addressed (but not implemented) the criteria Promising action - a majority of actions that addressed and were beginning to implement the criteria Substantial action - substantial actions that implemented the criteria for an indicator of a Learning-Centered Leadership System, and intended results were being achieved.

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program RatingIndicators Some ActionLearning-focused leadership standards No ActionRecruitment and selection of future school leaders Minimal ActionRedesigned leadership preparation to emphasize curriculum, instruction and student learning Minimal ActionSchool-based learning experiences that prepare participants to lead school improvement Minimal ActionProfessional-level licensure based on improved school and classroom practices Some ActionAlternative pathways to initial licensure No ActionTraining and support for leadership teams in low-performing schools Illinois Benchmark Ratings

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Learning-Focused Standards Pacesetter States and Your State Explicitly define knowledge, skills and responsibilities of leaders Percentage connected directly to student learning Include criteria for measuring performance of school leaders AlabamaModerately41%No LouisianaConsiderably33% No, but lists performance tasks MarylandConsiderably63% No, but lists performance tasks IllinoisModerately20%No

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: Learning-Focused Standards  Analyze and strengthen current standards to emphasis student learning  Develop performance criteria for competent, proficient and advanced performance  Go to scale with implementing the standards: criteria for program approval, hiring and evaluation, professional development

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recruitment and Selection Illinois and Pacesetter States  AlabamaPromising Progress  DelawareSome Progress  GeorgiaPromising Progress  LouisianaPromising Progress  MarylandSome Progress  IllinoisNo Action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: Recruitment and Selection  Establish learning-centered criteria for admission to preparation programs  Encourage districts to develop a school leader succession plan and provide models  Create and maintain a statewide database and monitor supply, demand and quality  Create incentives for universities to offer master’s degrees in teacher leadership

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Redesigned Leadership Preparation Illinois and Pacesetter States  AlabamaPromising Progress  ArkansasPromising Progress  DelawarePromising Progress  GeorgiaPromising Progress  LouisianaPromising Progress  MarylandPromising Progress  TennesseePromising Progress  VirginiaPromising Progress  IllinoisMinimal Action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: Redesigned Leadership Preparation  Adopt policy with conditions for learning-centered programs  Provide strong leadership within state agencies  Closely monitor the redesign process  Redesign program approval around learning- centered standards and conditions  Research the cost of learning-centered programs and realign state and university budgets

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program School-based Learning/Internships Illinois and Pacesetter States  AlabamaPromising Progress  ArkansasPromising Progress  DelawarePromising Progress  KentuckyPromising Progress  LouisianaPromising Progress  MarylandPromising Progress  TexasPromising Progress  IllinoisMinimal Action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: School-based Learning/Internships  Make universities and districts jointly accountable  Require projects addressing a range of real school problems  Establish standards and training for mentors  Base completion of internship on performance – not hours  Allocate more resources for quality mentoring

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Professional-level Licensure Illinois and Pacesetter States  LouisianaPromising Progress  TennesseePromising Progress  IllinoisMinimal Action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: Professional-level Licensure  Use licensure to ensure  competent performance from the start; and  job performance that improves student learning  Require reliable evidence of performance – not just program completion  Align licensure tests with learning-focused standards  Provide induction programs that develop proficient performance of standards

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Alternative Licensure Illinois and Pacesetter States  LouisianaPromising Progress  MarylandPromising Progress  MississippiPromising Progress  OklahomaPromising Progress  IllinoisSome Action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: Alternative Licensure  Allow highly qualified candidates to prove themselves on the job  Tailor professional development to assessed needs – not required courses  Provide mentors who have a record of success and furnish incentives  Provide performance coaching

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Training and Support for Low- performing Schools Illinois and Pacesetter States  AlabamaPromising Progress  ArkansasPromising Progress  FloridaPromising Progress  GeorgiaPromising Progress  LouisianaPromising Progress  TennesseePromising Progress  West VirginiaPromising Progress  IllinoisNo Action

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program Recommendations: Training and Support for Low-performing Schools  Train teams – not individual principals  Provide high-quality training and coaching  Train school boards and district staffs to create conditions for continuous improvement  Evaluate effectiveness by changes in school and classroom practices and student learning  Provide incentives that attract and retain highly-qualified principals and teacher leaders in low-performing schools

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program What Will It Take to Take Action? Illinois will need to expand the role of the Task Force to develop a learning-focused leadership system that has all of the necessary components and is cohesive. The expanded charge of the commission should include:  recommending policies and procedures that will help focus all components of the school leadership system on the principal’s responsibilities in improving teaching and learning;  providing oversight for the development and implementation of the new system; and  developing strategies for evaluating the system’s effectiveness in achieving state goals and expectations — including the quality of principal preparation programs, principal-candidates, induction and professional development programs for principals, and principals’ performance and impact on teaching and learning.

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program What Will It Take to Take Action? Illinois will need to provide sufficient resources — in time, money and people — to develop and fully implement a redesigned leadership system and obtain assistance from national or regional organizations with expertise in improving school leadership.

Southern Regional Education Board Learning- Centered Leadership Program What Will it Take for Results?  Say what you mean about school leadership  Choose the right people for the job  Get university leadership programs on track  Make sure aspiring principals learn on the job  Use your licensing power to drive reform  Cast a wider leadership net  Make low-performing schools a top priority