School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER)
An effective principal is essential for a successful school (Louis et al., 2010), and critical for school improvement in low performing schools (WestEd, 2014). One recent study uses the image of a successful principal as an architect who works to “redesign the school...
School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER)
Illinois has launched a new program to improve the lowest performing schools in the state as part of its U. S. Department of Education Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. The new structure, called School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER), is promoted...
School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER), Supporting Leaders
The term “school improvement” is misleading because effective improvement efforts don’t happen at schools in isolation. Instead, they are the result of system-level changes that require support and cooperation from state and local education agencies. A primary reason...
School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER), Supporting Leaders
Leaders should not underestimate the enormity of the challenge of improvement in a low performing school. In many low performing schools, even simple problems like improving student behavior in the hallways is a steep challenge. In large part it is because social and...
School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER), Supporting Teams
For any school improvement effort to be successful, teaching and learning – “the instructional core” – must be the North Star (Cohen and Ball, 1999). The Council of the Great City Schools (2015) found that the most improved schools were able to clearly articulate how...
Collaborative Standards Implementation, School and District Improvement (formerly IL-EMPOWER)
In order for school improvement efforts to be successful, schools need teachers and leaders who are willing and able to execute the improvement strategy (Player, Hambrick Hitt, & Robinson, 2014). That is, low performing schools must have the ability to recruit,...
