Illinois Technology and Leadership for Change (ITLC) | Illinois State University | (Originally supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
Program Summary
Introduction
Illinois Technology and Leadership for Change (ITLC) focuses on effective leadership. The over-riding theme throughout the program is continuous improvement. The program provides frameworks, dialogue, and practical applications of continuous improvement strategies for educational leaders on an individual and organizational level. ITLC advocates and practices data-driven decision making as the basis of effective continuous improvement for individuals and schools. Participants learn to collect, manipulate, analyze and communicate with data and most importantly, learn how to develop and build data leadership reflected in school improvement plans and actions with and through others. This is a "trainer of trainers" model as each participant is a staff developer creating and nurturing capacity for leadership and continuous improvement in teaching, learning, and improved student achievement.
Theory of Change
Our work is based in the seminal work of Chris Argris who focuses his change theory in both personal and organizational change. He maintains that "single loop" learning leads individuals and organizations to work harder and longer with the same premise and still expect different results. He maintains that "double loop" learning starts in core values and visioning which then direct behavior or performances in meaningful learning experiences to in fact produce deep change. Peter Senge has based his Fifth Discipline in this theory and names personal mastery, team learning, shared vision, mental models, and systems thinking as the disciplines that take individuals and organizations into deep change through double loop learning. The work of Learning Communities follows this same theory of change and focuses its actions in continuous improvement through data-driven decision making of stakeholders.
Definition of Leadership
Mission Statement
The ITLC mission is to provide Illinois school administrators leadership skills that produce effective, data-driven school improvement programs, measured by improved student performance. This will be accomplished by providing them with training and ongoing support in the use of school improvement and technological tools.
Costs
The variables involved in determining the overall cost to operate this program include the costs of designing the program, materials preparation, use of facilities, provision of food for training days, trainer fees and expenses, shipping materials, cost of computers and other equipment, staff salaries and benefits, development and licensing costs for website and on line courses. Individuals can participate for approximately $125 per workshop day. Districts can purchase licenses for the workshops and provide the workshops to all school personnel. Licenses and train-the-trainer fees are determined by the size of the district involved.
Licensure
The ISLLC standards are the Illinois standards for initial licensure and re-certification. Each workshop is presented to the Illinois Administrator Academy for approval. ITLC staff assist with this process in other states and in teacher continuing-education credits as requested by licensing districts.
Standards
The ISLLC standards are used for the framework for individual continuous improvement and the Baldrige Criteria for Excellence in Education are used as the framework for organizational continuous improvement. Both of these frameworks allow for the inclusion of district-chosen standards as part of the alignment focus of the program.
Measuring K-12 Student Success
ITLC does not have a formal evaluation tying the program to improvements in student performance. One reason is that student-performance testing has been inconsistent in Illinois. Test formats, and which students take the tests, have varied since testing was instituted. It is therefore difficult to use the statewide testing data with any reliability for purposes of evaluating professional-development programs.
Contact
Lynda Irvin & Julie Schlichting
Project Coordinators and Co-Directors
Illinois Technology and Leadership for Change
331 DeGarmo Hall, Campus Box 5900, EAF Department
Normal IL, 61790-5900
Phone: 309.438.2351| Fax: 309.438.8683 | Email: jas127@juno.com or leirvin@ilstu.edu
More Information
View all links for Illinois Technology and Leadership for Change
Disclaimer
e-Lead provides information on professional-development programs for school leaders that have submitted detailed information and that also meet certain standards-based criteria. Programs listed at the e-Lead website are not endorsed by either the Institute for Educational Leadership or Temple University's Laboratory for Student Success.