Program Self-Assessment
The EDC Quality Measures approach to assessing the quality of principal preparation programs uses a calibrated set of research-based rubrics and an evidence based analysis protocol. The rubrics incorporate the essential features and indicators of quality of program course content and pedagogy and clinical practices as identified by research-based literature (Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson, & Orr, 2007). For more information on this, contact Megan Thomas at: mthomas@edc.org
School-District Partnerships
The SREB Module on Developing Collaborative University-District Partnerships
to Prepare Learning-Centered Principals helps university and district partnerships to leverage the
collective capacity of both organizations within a formal
structure — a shared vision, a shared sense of urgency, mutual
accountability and shared inquiry. This training guides partnerships
and accelerates their progress as they develop enabling conditions to
design and implement a new paradigm of school leadership.
Through funding by The Wallace Foundation, Education Development Center (EDC) was commissioned with doing a national evaluation of the Wallace-funded principal preparation programs to identify successful elements for university/district partnerships. The study found that only one program – the one between Illinois State University and Springfield District #186 - exhibited all of the aspects of the core quality features that guided the national study. This paper presented at the American Education Research Association (AERA) conference in April, 2010, highlights the successful elements of the Illinois State University/Springfield District #186 partnership.
Course Content
Georgia’s Leadership Institute for School Improvement provides Performance-Based Modules for download free of charge that may be used in schools as well as university preparation programs.
The School Administration Managers (SAMs) initiative funded by The Wallace Foundation and coordinated by Mark Shellinger, is a national initiative that studies the use of time and the conditions that seem to keep school leaders from making instructional leadership their priority. A design team made up of representatives from Illinois, Iowa, and Kentucky developed a university curriculum module using the tools from the SAMs training and experiences. For more information on the module, contact Erika Hunt.
Funded by the McCormick Foundation, the Leadership to Integrate the Learning Continuum (LINC) initiative is developing Early Childhood curriculum modules for integration into school leadership preparation programs and leadership professional development. The modules, which will incorporate components of early childhood, ELL and special education, are in the process of design and will be ready for pilot by Spring 2010. For more information on the module, contact Lisa Hood.
The SREB Leadership Curriculum Modules bring focus to what principals and school leadership teams must know and be able to do to improve instruction and raise student achievement. Together, they form a coherent curriculum and provide a starting point for creating a program that emphasizes instructional leadership and problem-based learning, but may also be taken separately based on participant’s interest and availability.
The Leading Change toolkit by Wallace Senior Education Program Officer Jody Spiro was developed to fill the need in several key areas of the change process: assessing and improving participants’ readiness; engaging stakeholders; planning ‘early wins’; minimizing resistance; using collaborative planning methods; and developing ways to bring initiatives to scale and sustain them over time.
Internship
Through a federally funded grant, Chicago Public Schools requires aspiring principal candidates to participate in an Instructional Leadership Change Project Results Exhibit which showcases change projects lead by principal preparation program interns who applied for mini-grants of up to $2,500 to fund specific change initiatives important to their schools. For more information on this, contact the Office of Principal Preparation and Development at 773/553-1515.
Developed under a grant by The Wallace Foundation, Georgia LeaderTracker is a website that facilitates collaboration and planning among K-12 district leaders, leadership preparation program participants, leadership performance coaches, and university faculty. The website helps participating institutions track, manage, and accredit in-field practicum and performance-based professional growth programs. Using this website, education leaders and candidates can capture and share performance documents and portfolios for certification, job seeking and research. Available now for Georgia, but the system is adaptable to other states, universities, and school districts.
A two-day workshop for supervisors of aspiring principals offered by DuPage Regional Office of Education and Midwest Principals Association is designed to assist practicing PreK-12 principals who are selected by higher education institutions and their partner school districts to supervise principal interns in understanding the required experiences and assessments needed to improve student learning, as well as the impact and practical logistics of supervising interns under the Newly Defined Principal Preparation Criteria developed by the Illinois State Board of Education for implementation in 2011. The workshop is organized around two key documents - the ISBE developed Newly Defined Principal Preparation PPT and the Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet (LPPW) developed by the New York Leadership Academy. While many aspects of supervising the intern involves coaching and mentoring skills, the goal of this workshop is also to delineate the necessary supervision skills required of the field based intern supervisor (practicing principal) who will collaborate with the university intern supervisor in evaluating the intern. For more information on this workshop, contact Dr. Gail Fahey.
The SREB Module on Developing Internship Programs for School Leaders is designed for teams of participants to plan and implement an effective internship program for principal candidates. The module is based on research and current literature and recommended practices for building the types of field-based experiences that help develop school leaders that make a difference in student achievement. This training is based on the idea that professional development should include authentic, real-world application.
The SREB Module on Mentoring School Leaders in Competency-Based Internship and
Induction Experiences is designed for principal mentors to identify the characteristics and roles of effective mentors. Through the training, they also identify intern experiences that contribute to the development of school leaders who make a difference in student achievement. Mentors will receive an Idea Book that will help them in planning and implementing a competency-based, developmental learning plan as well as have the opportunity to explore a variety of scenarios to determine appropriate mentor strategies (reflection, coaching, listening, etc).
The SREB module on Assessing Academic Rigor to Ensure Grade-Level Proficiency and College Readiness is designed to help preparation programs work with partnering school districts to design internship programs that provide opportunities for aspiring principals to practice the leadership behaviors that are linked to increasing student achievement. Participants work in university-district partnership teams to create partnership agreements. They are guided through their work by being asked to make a series of decisions. Throughout the module, participants are encouraged to develop high-quality internship programs, based on a review of the literature.
The DuPage Regional Office of Education created a substitute teaching training program that districts can provide to their substitute teachers training on effective classroom management and engaging teaching strategies so that student learning is not compromised when the principal candidate is out of the classroom for field experiences.
Assessment
The Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet was developed to help new leaders identify, organize, and effectively lead instructional improvement in their schools through developing mastery of a subset of key leader behaviors that have been found to develop capacity to perform instructional leadership.
The Illinois Teaching, Leading and Learning (TeLL) survey serves as a mechanism in Illinois for collecting data on working conditions at the school level.
The Chicago Tribune has created a new search engine that allows searches and comparisons of any public school in the state, including a break down by subject, race and income.
The Interactive Illinois School Report Card is the premier web site for test results and other school accountability information for Illinois schools
The School Leadership Preparation and Practice Survey (SLPPS) is designed for leadership preparation programs to solicit feedback from their graduates and alumni. The survey was developed through the University Council for Educational Administration/ Learning and Teaching in Educational Leadership Special Interest Group on Evaluating Leadership Preparation Programs. The survey is designed for the purpose of facilitating program assessment (in the aggregate) and accreditation and program improvement. The survey is aligned with the national ELCC leadership standards and provides a source of evidence on program outcomes. Each participating institution who completes the survey receives a customized report that includes a brief overview of aggregate findings and useful data comparing the graduates with other SLPPS respondents from participating institutions along various dimensions.
The Illinois Educational Administration Graduate Assessment Survey provides a common, state-wide, standards-aligned assessment of program graduates for internal improvement and institutional accreditation processes. Surveys collect: demographic, educational, career information; experiences in graduate program/program content; practicum; state leadership standards; readiness to exercise leadership in typical tasks; assessment of program graduates by professional supervisors; and, open-ended feedback. For more information on the survey, contact Dr. Stephen Lucas.
Principal Eligibility
Chicago Public Schools requires aspiring principals to qualify under district-wide eligibility criteria. To assist them with this, CPS provides a self-assessment package for the CPS eligibility process (see principal eligibility documents).
Continuous Support
The Illinois New Principal Mentoring (INPM) Program, managed by the Illinois Principals Association provides new principals with the individualized mentoring support they need to successfully transition into effective educational leaders. Results from a New Principal Survey identify areas in which new principals feel they need the most assistance in preparing for their new role.
The New Teacher Center Coach Leaders to Attain Student Success Program offers a three day training designed to prepare individuals to provide intensive individualized support to new and veteran principals.
The Illinois Distinguished Principal Leadership Institute (IDPLI) is designed to improve student performance by expanding the leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes of principals in five leadership performance strands: 1) Creating and Living the Mission, Vision and Beliefs; 2) Leading and Managing Change; 3) Developing Deep Knowledge about Teaching and Learning; 4) Building and Maintaining Collaborative Relationships; and, 5) Building and Sustaining Accountability Systems. A rubric for each leadership performance strand describes the expected performance on a 5-point Likert scale. The rubrics are designed to measure the knowledge and skills embedded in a curriculum framework and content for each leadership performance strand of the IDPLI. The rubrics are useful for both formative and summative assessments.
The Advanced Certification for Education Leaders (ACEL) will create standards and an assessment process for the development of master principals. It will also lay the groundwork for a new teacher leader certification for teachers and other school-based educators who positively impact the culture of learning in the classroom. The program is anticipated to be available in 2011.
The National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) offers high-quality, research-based professional development programs designed to give principals the critical knowledge and skills they need to be instructional leaders and improve student achievement in their schools.
The Data-Informed Decision-Making Guidebook for School Improvement is a tool for principals and others to use data to improve the school and student learning. A companion tool, Data-Informed Decision-Making on High-Impact Strategies for School Principals, is a self-rated instrument for principals to rate their own work regarding using data to improve the school and student learning.
A resource developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago highlights the the relationship between school leadership and teacher development, and focuses on current strategies in Illinois to improve teaching and school leadership.
Principal Evaluation
VAL-ED (Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education) is a researched-based evaluation tool that measures the effectiveness of school leaders by providing a detailed assessment of a principal's perceived performance.
The Principal Evaluation Illinois Administrator Academy Course helps participants gain a comprehensive understanding of the Illinois Professional Leader Standards, how to apply these standards to the administrative evaluation process and to more effectively evaluate and support administrator professional growth in their district.
School Administrators of Iowa has developed a principal evaluation resource guide that contains guiding principles for evaluation linked to standards and criteria as well as descriptors specific to the work of the principal. To access the guide, go http://www.sai-iowa.org/, click on resources and then on Principal Evaluation.