Illinois State Action for Education Leadership (IL-SAELP)

In 2001, Illinois was one of fifteen states across America selected and funded by The Wallace Foundation to complete a project aimed at strengthening education leadership throughout the state. In 2005, IL-SAELP passed legislation (Public Act 094-1039) designed to license and support aspiring, new, and experienced principals. This included the creation of a teacher leadership endorsement, mandatory mentoring for all new principals, and a master principal designation program (known as the Illinois Distinguished Principal Leadership Institute).

In 2006, The Wallace Foundation increased its award to Illinois expanding the state's work to focus on building a cohesive leadership system (pdf) that includes the following:

• Outcomes-based standards that define clear expectations for skills and behaviors and guide principal training, continuous development, and evaluation;
• Strengthened leadership training with greater accountability for all of the state's principal preparation programs;
• Team-based professional development dedicated to building skills and creating capacity for shared leadership; and,
• A school climate study of issues that impact the working conditions for administrators and teachers.

Supported by IL-SAELP, in 2007, the legislature passed Senate Joint Resolution 67 creating a School Leader Task Force. Convened by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the task force made recommendations to improve the preparation of principals, including:

• developing a specific principal endorsement separate from the general supervisory certificate;
• developing new criteria for approving principal preparation programs; and,
• establishing a new licensure exam for principals.

A sixteen-member executive committee provides a sounding board to IL-SAELP staff and its consortium members, a working group made up of representatives from state and national K-12 and community organizations, school districts, and public and private universities. Chicago Public Schools and Springfield School District serve as demonstration districts for the work of IL-SAELP, while organizations such as the Large Unit District Association (LUDA) and Consortium for Education Change (CEC) work with their member districts to further IL-SAELP's strategies.

Highlighted Resources

Educational Leadership Action Network (ELAN)

A resource for professionals dedicated to strengthening the performance of education leaders to improve achievement for all students, especially those in our nation's low-performing schools.

Val Ed instrument

A 360 degree assessment tool designed, developed and tested to be both reliable (i.e., provide accurate measurement) and valid (i.e., measure leadership behaviors that lead to improved student achievement).

Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet

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.

For more information

For more information on the IL-SAELP initiative, contact Erika Hunt.