The Commission on School Leader Preparation in Illinois Colleges and Universities was established by the Illinois Board of Higher Education in August 2005 in response to mounting concerns about the need to improve higher education programs that prepare school leaders. The Commission, comprised of leaders from K-12 schools, colleges and universities, business organizations, professional education organizations, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, addressed the following charges:
• Evaluate the findings and recommendations of Educating School Leaders (Levine, 2005)
• Examine how school leaders are prepared in Illinois
• Propose strategies for improving school leader preparation throughout Illinois
The Commission ’ s report, School Leader Preparation: A Blueprint for Change, presented at the August 2006 Board of Higher Education meeting, identified three goals and six major recommendations for State implementation. Materials from the Commission meetings, including a list of Commission members, can be found on the Illinois Board of Higher Education web site.
The Illinois School Leader Task Force was created by the General Assembly through through HJR66 and SJR56 to develop an implementation plan to guide statewide initiatives in increasing the quality and effectiveness of school leader preparation. In accordance with the legislative resolutions, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Office of the Governor jointly appointed a task force to recommend a sequence of strategic steps, based on, but not limited to, the measures detailed in the Commission on School Leader Preparation report, Blueprint for Change.
From October 2007 through January 2008, Task Force members:
• Examined Illinois data collected by external sources, including a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) state benchmarking report and an Illinois Council of Professors of Education Administration (ICPEA) gap analysis, as well as other data sources;
• Examined existing research on the impact of school leadership on student learning, as well as national reports on the state of school leadership preparation today and the need to strengthen preparation programs to improve student learning in schools; and
• Considered existing and emerging federal, state, and district policies that inform how leadership preparation may contribute to a leadership continuum for aspiring, new, and experienced school leaders.
In February 2008, the School Leader Task Force released its report of recommendations. Information about the task force, including materials from the meetings and task force membership, can be found on the Illinois Board of Higher Education web site.