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

2017 State Policy Review: School and district leadership  Leadership has one of the greatest impacts on student learning, and states across the country are working on legislation impacting everything from preparation to evaluations for leaders of schools and districts. In this special report, 2017 State Policy Review: School and district leadership, learn more about the types of legislation considered and enacted so far in 2017.

Preparing to Lead: Lessons in Principal Development from High-Performing Education Systems  A new report from CIEB finds that many of the world’s best education systems are providing current and future school leaders with leadership development that is specifically tailored to their unique context, mirrors their day-to-day responsibilities and is focused on real-world problems facing those in the profession.

U.S. Needs More Top-Notch School Leaders And Here’s What it Will Take  In countries that have formalized career ladder systems, future principals are first expected to become highly competent teachers.  Part of that process involves observing expert teachers and being critiqued by them.  Part of it involves being a member of teams with very different kinds of assignments, in which they learn a lot from the more experienced teachers, but also make their own contributions.  Only when they can show that they are first-rate teachers are they allowed to go to the next step, which involves opportunities to lead teacher teams and to mentor teachers with less experience and expertise.  In some of these countries, teachers write research papers on their action projects and publish them in refereed journals.

Minority Teacher Recruitment Difficult In Central Illinois  A retired Unit 5 school district educator recently called for more aggressive efforts to hire minority teachers in Bloomington-Normal. WGLT’s Charlie Schlenker talked with District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly about this difficult issue. (WGLT)

Do state ESSA Plans Address Leadership?  This briefing brings together principals and other key stakeholders who played important roles in developing their state’s ESSA plan, to explore how their state’s plan will use Title II dollars to support school leader professional development. It also examines the changing role of the principalship and how leadership is integral to improving outcomes for students.

Students perform better in schools with the highest levels of instructional school leadership and teacher leadership  The new School Leadership Counts report identifies key leadership variables related to increased student achievement.  While the importance and impact of school and teacher leadership has been widely understood by policymakers and practitioners, the field has lacked a comprehensive, research-based analysis to identify the specific elements of school and teacher leadership that can increase student achievement.

K12 Leaders See Flexibility in Alternative Credentialing  Rather than attend a teaching college and earning the standard credentials, they leveraged their bachelor’s degrees and professional expertise. The new state rule that allows this—called Academic Pathway to Teaching—mimics new policies a handful of other states have passed or are considering to cope with a nationwide teacher shortage. (District Administration)

Gates Foundation to Move Away from Teacher Evals, Shifting Attention to ‘Networks’ of Public Schools  Now, the Gates Foundation is going in a new direction. In a speech, Bill Gates said the foundation is about to launch a new, locally driven effort to help existing public schools improve. (Chalkbeat)

State Information Request: Teacher Certification  A staff member at a state legislative office asked about data collection regarding state policies requiring private school teachers to hold a state teaching license and/or undergo a background check as a requisite for employment. The Education Commission’s response includes resources and state examples regarding certification requirements.

A Big Push in States for PD, Leadership Skills for Superintendents, Principals  In state capitals around the country, lawmakers have placed a big emphasis this year on redoubling the leadership skills of school and district administrators, a focus that has implications for the K-12 market. (EdWeek Market Brief)

Teacher Leadership Is Linked to Higher Student Test Scores in New Study  Students who go to schools where their teachers have a leadership role in decision making perform significantly better on state tests, a new study finds. But some of the leadership elements that are most related to student achievement are the ones that are least often implemented in schools. (Education Week)