3.7 An imperative for leadership preparation programs: preparing  (Page 6/12)

The following principles set the direction and priorities during the development of the new policy standards:

1. Reflect the centrality of student learning;
2. Acknowledge the changing role of the school leader;
3. Recognize the collaborative nature of school leadership;
4. Improve the quality of the profession;
5. Inform performance-based systems of assessment and evaluation for school leaders;
6. Demonstrate integration and coherence; and
7. Advance access, opportunity, and empowerment for all members of the school community. (p. 8)

ISLLC 2008, “Provides a framework for policy creation, training program performance, life-long career development, and system support” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008, p.13). The standards have been developed to influence and drive system-wide change in training programs, licensing and induction, performance evaluation, support of ongoing training and professional development, and improvement in working conditions, with the desired final outcome of, “Effective instructional leadership that positively impacts student achievement” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008, p. 13). A key change in the wording used in ISLLC 2008 standards differs from the 1996 ISLLC Standards particularly in the phraseology used to state the standard. The 1996 ISLLC Standards begins the description of each standard with the phrase, “A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by…” ISLLC 2008 begins each standard with the phrase, “An education leader promotes the success of every student…” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008, p. 18).

Following the publication of ISLLC 2008, The State Consortium on Education Leadership (SCEL), representing state education agency personnel, convened under the auspices of CCSSO, and developed and published Performance Expectations and Indicators for Education Leaders: An ISLLC-Based Guide to Implementing Leader Standards and a Companion Guide to the Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC 2008 (Sanders&Kearney, 2008). This publication is the result of collaboration between SCEL, CCSSO, and representatives from state education agencies, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa. This guide presents performance expectations and begins the description of each expectation with the phrase, “Education leaders ensure…” rather than “Education leaders promote…” as used by ISLLC 2008. There is a vast degree of difference between promote and ensure. The expectation is higher. When one promotes they encourage. When one ensures they guarantee that it will be achieved. As with higher expectations for student performance, state agencies are seeking the same higher expectations for education leader performance. The evolution of standards and guidelines has developed considerably from responses to the outcries of A Nation at Risk in 1983 (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), to the NPBEA Principals for our Changing Schools: Knowledge and Skill Base in 1993 (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 1993; Thomson, 1993), to clearly stated high performance expectations in 2008 to be met by education leaders. As stated by Sanders&Kearney (2008),