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August 15, 2005
IBHE CONSIDERS COMMISSION TO STUDY SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
SPRINGFIELD - Targeting a key element of school reform,
the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) will act on creating
a commission to examine school leader preparation programs and recommend
improvements in the way principals and superintendents are trained.
The proposal for the Commission on School Leader Preparation in
Illinois Colleges and Universities comes on the heels of recent
reports criticizing graduate programs that prepare educators to
advance from the classroom to administration of schools and school
districts.
The Board will meet at 9 a.m., Tuesday, August 23, at Roosevelt
University in Chicago, when it also will hear a report on fiscal
2007 budget preparations, vote on model associate degree programs
for teachers in special education and early childhood education,
and consider final recommendations of its Committee on Priorities,
Productivity, and Accountability.
A report to the Board proposing the school leadership commission
notes that a recent study - Educating School Leaders by Arthur
Levine of Columbia University - concluded that "school leader
preparation programs are in curricular disarray, disconnected from
what is needed to run a school or school system." The Levine
study criticized such programs for low admissions and graduation
requirements, weak faculty, poor research, inadequate clinical instruction,
and an inappropriate degree/credentialing structure for the school
leader profession.
The commission, if approved by the Board, will be asked to:
- Evaluate the Levine study and others as a context for reviewing
Illinois programs.
- Examine the present state of school leader preparation in Illinois,
including program quality, recruitment practices, admissions and
graduation standards, curricular relevance and bloat, quality
of clinical experiences, and appropriateness of the degree/credentialing
sequence.
- Explore the impact of external influences such as regulatory
and accountability requirements and funding sources on school
leader preparation programs.
- Analyze findings to prepare recommendations on revamping such
programs.
The commission, to be chaired by Cordelia Meyer, a member of the
IBHE and executive vice president of the Civic Committee of the
Commercial Club, and Dianne Ashby, interim vice president of university
advancement at Illinois State University, is to issue a preliminary
report to the Board by December 2005.
Board members will get a preview of the fiscal landscape for the
2007 budget year. A "budget context" report notes that
while general fund revenue is projected to rise by $517 million
this fiscal year, the growth trend "likely will not yield a
base large enough to meet all the needs and wants of the state in
fiscal year 2007." The report also points out that many of
the strategic goals that drove the Board's budget recommendations
for FY06 remain to be fulfilled in fiscal 2007, including additional
funding for need-based student financial aid, salary competitiveness
for faculty and staff, repair and maintenance of college and university
facilities, and efforts to bolster access and diversity.
The Board will be asked to approve two model Associate of Arts in
Teaching degrees, one in special education, the other in early childhood
education. The models serve as the basis for community colleges
to determine specific courses that will enable students to transfer
to senior institutions to complete their bachelor degrees and teacher
certification. The model A.A.T.s - the Board already has approved
model programs in math and science - are designed to alleviate teacher
shortages in certain disciplines by making it easier for students
who begin their education at community colleges to transfer credits
into a baccalaureate institution. Students who complete the A.A.T.
and pass the state's basic skills test will be able to enter teacher
preparation programs on the same academic footing as an institution's
native students.
Approval of final recommendations of the Board's Priorities, Productivity,
and Accountability (PPA) Committee also is on the August agenda.
The Committee has examined issues related to academic programming
and state regulatory practices in search of ways to promote efficiencies
and sharpen institutional and state focus on core mission activities.
Among the Committee's recommendations are creation of a consumer
information website; linking development of academic programs to
the state's workforce needs; strengthening oversight of proprietary
institutions, particularly online programs; and establishing a working
group to implement proposals to streamline statutory and regulatory
requirements.
Board members will act on allocation of $4.7 million in FY06 grants
under the Higher Education Cooperation Act. The grants assist in
strengthening college readiness among students with weak high school
preparation, broadening access to higher education and success in
college for students with generally low rates of participation in
college, and promoting diversity of Illinois higher education faculty.
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