LEAD Program Receives ISBE Approval
From 2010 to 2012, the faculty in Educational Leadership (LEAD) worked hard to revise the Educational Leadership Graduate Program. Spurred by major changes implemented by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Type 75 certificate endorsed in general administrative is being replaced by the principal endorsement on the Professional Educator License.
LEAD faculty spent a considerable amount of time revising all aspects of the program, and their hard work resulted in a favorable outcome as the new Educational Leadership Program was one of the first programs of its kind approved by the State. The new program of study was approved September, 2012.
The new principal endorsement has numerous, never-before mandatory prerequisites. Under the new law,
those individuals – including Type 73 school service personnel, counselors, social workers, psychologists and speech therapists – who have never taught on a valid teaching license, are not eligible for admission to a principal preparation program. In order to gain admission to the new program, prospective students must: 1) hold a valid/current Illinois teaching certificate; 2) be selected through an in-person interview with no fewer than two of the program’s full-time faculty; 3) have earned a passing score on the Test of Academic Proficiency – TAP (previously known as the Illinois Basic Skills Test); 4) have successfully completed an on-site written response to a scenario presented by the faculty; and, 5) explain the contents of their portfolio with professors during the interview.
To facilitate the principal preparation program admission process, LEAD faculty have decided to use the first graduate course, Introduction to Evaluation of Certified and Support Staff, as a pre-admission course to assist students with all matriculation requirements while concurrently learning credit towards graduation. The candidate admission process for the principal preparation program is multifaceted, but the LEAD program must also meet other requirements as stipulated by the ISBE.
Other ISBE requirements include developing new partnerships with K-12 school districts that are documented through partner agreements, ensuring the principal endorsement curriculum includes specific state standards and guidelines for student learning and school improvement, and incorporating sustained, continuous, structured and supervised internship experiences. Faculty in the LEAD program have responded to the new ISBE requirements in a way that best meets the needs of NEIU students and the schools with whom they work.
Students currently enrolled in the Type 75 program will have until August 31, 2014 to obtain and register their Type 75 certificate. For current administrators holding a Type 75 certificate, the state has indicated that they may continue to serve as before or they may transition to the new principal endorsement under certain circumstances. However, students who have recently matriculated into a principal endorsement program will follow a new set of standards and guidelines.
Faculty Accomplishments
Dr. Howard Bultinck (ELAD) published Educational Reform: What School Board members Need to Know in Illinois School Board Journal. In addition, he presented Superintendent Searches: What Boards Seek at the American Association of School Administrators’ annual convention.
