The following is a list of recent resources for those focused on the professional improvement of teachers, principals, and other educational leaders.

Building Principal Support Systems: Partnerships and Policy Strategies for State Education Agencies. State education agencies (SEAs) have indicated that support for principals is a top priority of their agencies and critical to advancing implementation of important initiatives and increasing student achievement. To assist states in defining their role in principal support and professional learning, CCSSO’s Implementing College and Career Standards (ICCS) collaborative and National and State Collaborative on Educator Effectiveness (NSCEE) have jointly developed this action and recommendation guide. The document includes a series of actions, recommendations, short case studies, and resources that provide guidance for state agencies on enhancing or implementing systems of principal support and professional learning that are based on the Professional Standards for Education Leaders 2015.

2016 Illinois Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching (ECET2): Paving the Way for Teacher Advocates. Join us for a conference for teachers, by teachers where we will explore the different avenues teachers can use their voices to change the education policy conversation in Illinois.

We will begin on Sunday, October 9, at 6:30 p.m. for a dinner reception at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel. Monday morning will commence with breakfast and networking at 7:30 a.m. at the Illinois Education Association Springfield-Professional Development Center.

 With a focus on teachers as school leaders, we will participate in advocacy training and share advocacy tactics and approaches to elevate teacher voice as experts in education. Teachers will have the opportunity to practice the skills learned and engage in conversation with “target” panelists.

State policies related to teacher licensure, certification, recruitment and retention. A state department of education staff member requested information about state policies regarding teaching licensure and certification, and also information about minority teacher recruitment and retention. The Education Commission of the State’s response includes state examples and resources related to licensure systems, certification, recruitment and retention.

What One Assistant Principal Learned From Shadowing a Student for the Day. (PBS NewsHour, August 9). Karen Ritter, an assistant principal at East Leyden High School just outside of Chicago, wanted to see her school through a student’s eyes. So she decided to follow 9th grader Alan Garcia, who came to her asking to be switched out of the many remedial classes in which he is enrolled, hoping to get a clear view of his experience in the classroom.

The Framework for Teaching:Elevating Professional Learning. The Danielson Group is having a conference at NIU – Naperville on October 6-8. Over 1 million educators in the United States use the Framework for Teaching and many of those educators are in Illinois. Come find out how to maximize the use of the Framework for Teaching in high-leverage teaching, coaching, leading, and teacher evaluation. Registration and details are now available.

Registration for the 2016 AEP National Forum is Now Open! 
You are invited to join us October 5-7 in Denver for the 2016 Arts Education Partnership National Forum: The Arts Leading the Way to Student Success. Registration is now open for this convening that brings together the nation’s most influential arts and education leaders and offers the opportunity to explore new research findings, learn about effective practices and understand important policy implications so that every student might learn, achieve and succeed through the arts.

Understanding Field Experiences in Traditional Teacher Preparation Programs in Missouri. This report presents data from a survey administered in early 2015 to first-year teachers in Missouri public schools who completed traditional teacher preparation programs. Findings show that first-year teachers had field experiences that varied substantially in duration and diversity and that experiences varied for teachers with different types of teaching certificates. (Source: Central Regional Educational Laboratory at Marzano Research).