A Project Sponsored by the McCormick Foundation Lisa Hood, LINC Project Director Center for the Study of Education Policy Illinois State University Presentation at the Illinois Principal Preparation Summit June 17, 2011

New Legislation & Rules P.A created a P-12 Principal Certification Sec d) 1). Each program shall offer curricula that address student learning and school improvement and focus on :1) all grade levels (i.e., preschool through grade 12); 4) all students with specific attention on students with special needs (e.g., students with disabilities, ELL, gifted students, and students in early childhood programs) Sec a) The internship portion of the program shall be conducted at one or more public or nonpublic schools to enable the candidate to be exposed to and participate in a variety of school leadership situations and settings and 1) consist of the following components: A) Engagement in instructional activities that involve teachers at all grade levels (i.e., preschool through grade 12), including teachers in both general education, special education, bilingual education and gifted education settings

New Legislation & Rules Sec Assessment of the Internship: Assessing candidate knowledge and performance on competencies using the outcomes rubric in 4 assessment areas. Candidates must achieve “meets the standards” on each competency to successfully complete the internship. These assessments only apply to candidate performance in the internship—not their performance on class content or in class associated field-based experiences. Assessment areas 1-3 do not specifically address learning experiences early childhood, special education, or bilingual education, but that does not prohibit their inclusion into the assessment process. Area 4 specifically assesses candidates performance related to individualized education programs including developing programs for students with disabilities and English Language Learners.

New Legislation & Rules Sec Coursework requirements 2) State and federal laws, regulations and case law regarding programs for students with disabilities and English Language Learners 5) Understanding literacy skills required for student learning that are developmentally appropriate (early literacy through adolescent literacy)… 6) Understanding numeracy skills and working collaboratively across content areas to improve problem-solving and number sense at all grade levels

Resources and Support LINC Curriculum Module LINC Principal Preparation Redesign Collaboration

Structure of LINC Module Content StrandFocus 1. Birth -12 as a Continuum and Single System One system; one continuum Successful transitions 2. Basics of Early Childhood Programming Foundations of EC Models of EC 3. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Across the Continuum Curriculum and instruction to meet diverse needs of learners Data-driven decision making at different levels 4. Relationship and Communication: Family-School Partnerships Building relationships with families, staff and community

LINC Curriculum Module Module will be available on the LINC website ( in fall 2011www.leadershiplinc.ilstu.edu Instructors or faculty members will be required to participate in a short 1 hour webinar training that will provide information about the structure of the module, the content, and possible uses

LINC Principal Preparation Redesign Collaboration Two - year project to provide technical assistance in redesign of P-12 Principal Preparation Programs – Part 1: Consortium Approach to Redesigning P-12 Preparation Programs – Part 2: Building Statewide Support and Capacity – Part 3: Building Leadership Preparation Capacity and Support Proposed project timeline: June 1, 2011 – May 30, 2013

Technical Assistance - Part 1 Provide in-depth technical assistance to 4 institutions to redesign their programs, with a particular focus on early childhood content (North Central College, Loyola University, Western Illinois University, Illinois State University) These programs will receive grant money to support their redesign work (e.g., stipends for a team of faculty and/or an outside expert) – Webinars – Quarterly meetings – Just-in-time technical support – Tool development (e.g., outcomes assessment rubric) – Listserv and other resource sharing opportunities – P-12 Principal Training Toolkit

Technical Assistance - Part 1, Cont’d Essential design elements 1.Alignment with district/school needs 2.Joint selective admission in collaboration with partner districts 3.Bridging university degree programs into a cohesive P-12 leadership program (e.g., educational leadership, early childhood, special education) 4.Creating program cohesion through shared faculty decision making and sequential instruction at program and course level 5.Requirement of field experiences in early childhood settings, ELL, and special education services and programs 6.Integration of leading edge early childhood and P-3 materials and resources 7.Developing a clear metric to measure success

Technical Assistance -Part 2 Building Statewide Capacity and Support – Training for and presentations to: Teacher Certification Board members Principal Preparation Review Panel Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Board of Higher Education staff P-20 Council – Partnerships with statewide professional organizations (e.g., ICPEA, ACI)

Technical Assistance -Part 3 Building Leadership Preparation Capacity and Support – Steering Committee of stakeholders meet bi-monthly to guide the work of project staff and consortium universities (e.g., representatives from special education, early childhood, ELL, UIC, ICPEA, etc.) – Technical assistance provided to interested principal preparation programs Final symposium to share the work in Spring 2013 – Information sharing throughout 2-year project

For More Information For more information about the LINC project, contact: Lisa Hood Erika Hunt