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The community schools strategy transforms a school into a place where educators, local community members, families, and students work together to strengthen conditions for student learning and healthy development. As partners, they organize in- and out-of-school resources, supports, and opportunities so that young people thrive. A growing number of states are investing in community schools as a strategy to address long-standing social inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a review of state American Rescue Plan Act plans, as well as state legislative and state education agency websites and other online resources, this report describes community school initiatives in eight states. The report highlights three potential approaches to state support for community schools: (1) ongoing support through school funding formulas; (2) competitive grant funding; and (3) capacity-building supports (such as certification processes).

To best train and support school leaders in their evolving roles, they require high-quality preparation and in-service pipelines that both address the changing demands on their positions and acknowledge the cascading effects that well-prepared leaders have on both student outcomes and in school culture and retention. Including school leaders in the policymaking process will help guide state leaders on the most effective approaches for their states and needs. To that end, this Policy Brief explores school leader representation on state and local boards of education and on statewide task forces and commissions. The brief also presents an overview of the school leadership pipeline and examples of recent legislative action in 13 states that supports development along the continuum.

In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nearly a quarter of all employed U.S. workers are in a profession that requires an occupational license. Given the prevalence of licensing, it is one of the central factors that shapes employment opportunities for many workers. Licensing is also one of the most restrictive forms of occupational regulation since it legally prohibits individuals from working in a licensed occupation if they do not fulfill a jurisdiction's educational and/or experience requirements. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) worked with the National Conference for State Legislatures (NCSL) and its partner organizations, the Council of State Governments (CSG) and the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, to conduct case studies of 11 different states that undertook efforts to review their licensing practices. Each case study in this report takes a retrospective look at one of the occupational licensing initiatives undertaken by a Consortium state. Collectively, the case studies shed light on the processes, successes, challenges, and effects of occupational licensing initiatives pursued by each state. The case studies offer important insight into factors that facilitated and hindered success within licensure efforts. The case studies in this report focus on the following states: (1) Arkansas; (2) Kentucky; (3) Delaware; (4) Wisconsin; (5) Utah; (6) Connecticut; (7) Illinois; (8) Indiana; (9) Nevada; (10) Colorado; and (11) Maryland. The information gathered from the background materials, the interviews, and the quantitative data was used to develop each of the 11 case studies. Each case study includes an introduction, a description of the focal topic, a summary of the findings, a description of the case study approach, and detailed findings.

The Certification Data Exchange Project (CDEP) was launched in 2012 to provide a model for sharing industry-recognized credential attainment data. Increasingly, employers and education leaders are recognizing the value of industry credentials to verify the knowledge, skills and abilities that students bring to the workforce. As states take steps to incentivize and hold schools and institutions accountable for credential attainment, there is a need for reliable, secure data capture mechanisms. The CDEP provides a proof of concept for states working to collect better data on credential attainment. This report from the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) describes the goals of CDEP, shares results, and uses a simple five-step process to discuss lessons learned and provide recommendations for future data-sharing and data-matching efforts. The report also includes helpful resources for state policymakers including a draft data sharing agreement and reporting templates.

This resource was prepared in response to a request for information from a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) State about the innovative work with family child care providers that is being done in RTT-ELC Phase 2 States (Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wisconsin) and Phase 3 States (Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont). This information will be helpful to other States as they consider how to continue to enhance the quality of early learning in family child care homes in their States. This summary describes family child care activities that States specifically described in their 2015 RTT-ELC Annual Performance Reports (APRs) to the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. States may have additional initiatives that they did not include in their Annual Performance Reports (APRs) because they were not funded by their RTT-ELC grants. The initiatives are grouped into the following categories: (1) engaging family child care providers in Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (TQRIS); (2) improving professional development; (3) bringing family child care providers and friend and neighbor child care providers into the licensing system; and (4) extending programs to include family child care providers.

In 2010, Illinois became one of the first states to legislatively require a complete redesign of all its principal preparation programs, with the goal of advancing statewide school improvement through strengthening school leadership. This effort was ambitious and sweeping, calling for radical shifts in previous practice, including: (1) A targeted principal endorsement, instead of a general administrative certificate; (2) Formal partnerships with school districts in preparation program design and delivery; (3) More selective admissions criteria and processes; (4) Focus on leading all students, including students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and early childhood education; (5) Collaborative support for candidates from highly qualified faculty supervisors and mentor principals; and (6) A competency-based internship, with an emphasis on demonstrated leadership skills. For many decades prior to the redesign, principal preparation had typically consisted of administrative courses such as school law, finance, and educational theory, followed by an internship consisting of a set number of hours that were mainly spent shadowing a principal. Programs varied greatly in the quality of both course content and mentoring and generally had few, if any, selection criteria beyond what was required by the college or university. Meanwhile, a growing body of research evidence indicated that principals play a critical role in improving student performance and leading effective schools. This research identified the importance of principals as effective instructional leaders rather than simply efficient building managers, and identified key components of effective principal preparation programs, including: targeted recruitment and selection, a rigorous curriculum focused on instruction and school improvement; integration of coursework and fieldwork; and robust, sustained internships that allow candidates to gain leadership experience working with an expert mentor. As a result, traditional principal preparation began to be perceived as providing inadequate training, and principal preparation programs became the target of intense scrutiny. For the past two years, the authors have studied the implementation of Illinois' new principal preparation programs and the changes that have occurred as a result of the new policy. In this policy brief, they highlight key findings and implications from the second phase of the study. The full findings and analysis are presented in the final report. [For the final report, "Navigating the Shift to Intensive Principal Preparation in Illinois: An In-Depth Look at Stakeholder Perspectives. Policy Research: IERC 2016-2," see ED567016.]

In 2010, Illinois policymakers sought to advance statewide school improvement by strengthening school leadership. Illinois became one of the first states to legislatively require a complete redesign of all its principal preparation programs with the goal of ensuring future principals would be "highly effective in leadership roles" and prepared "to improve teaching and learning and increase academic achievement and the development of all students" (Programs for the Preparation of Principals in Illinois, 2016). The new requirements, which went into effect in 2014, called for the reauthorization of all programs and several radical shifts from the status quo. First, all programs had to establish formal partnerships with school districts so that they would be more aware of and responsive to district needs. Second, principal internships required candidates to illustrate the mastery of critical competencies rather than complete observations and log hours. Third, principal training was required to emphasize creating instructional leaders able to catalyze school change rather than developing managers. Fourth, programs also needed to prepare all principals to work with all students from pre-K to twelfth grade, including students with disabilities and English language learners (ELLs). Finally, programs were expected to collect and utilize data for continuous improvement. The current study provides the first statewide, in-depth examination of how Illinois programs and their district partners have interpreted this policy and redesigned their training. Overall, the authors find that Illinois' principal preparation has undergone extensive change. While programs vary, many have made significant alterations to courses, staffing, and district partnerships, and the internship experience has undergone a fundamental change. In this report, the authors will describe these shifts and provide stakeholders' perspectives on their successes and the challenges. The following are appended: (1) Project Advisory Board; (2) Methodology; and (3) Supplementary Data Tables.

This report presents findings from the Access Evaluation, a study component that is designed to assess the potential impacts of direct certification-Medicaid (DC-M) on students' access to free school meals by conducting retrospective simulations of DC-M in school year 2011-2012, the year before the demonstration began. For the Access Evaluation, researchers at Mathematica collected: (1) student enrollment files for a sample of school districts in the demonstration; and (2) Medicaid data for school-age children. The authors matched these two types of files based on individual identifiers, such as name and date of birth, to simulate DC-M. If a student was found to be enrolled in Medicaid, they assessed whether the income information in the Medicaid file indicated that the student would be eligible for free meals and determined the certification status that each student in the school enrollment file would have if DC-M were used in addition to actual SY 2011-2012 certification procedures. Impacts are measured by comparing these simulated certification outcomes under DC-M to districts' actual certifications that year. Such comparisons reveal the extent to which DC-M could increase the number of students certified for free meals and decrease the reliance on applications. Separate simulations show the potential impact of DC-M under different matching algorithms and policies. Key findings from the Access Evaluation include: (1) DC-M could increase the direct certification rate by 12 percentage points in Access Evaluation districts; (2) The potential increase in the percentage of students certified for free meals is smaller--at 6 percentage points--because some of the students who could be directly certified under DC-M would be certified for free meals by application in the absence of DC-M.; (3) There is substantial variation in the effects of DC-M across districts; (4) The simulated impacts vary little under alternative matching procedures; and (5) The simulated impacts vary little under most alternative policy assumptions. The following are appended: (1) Methods; (2) Supplemental Tables Related to Simulations of DC-M as Currently Authorized; (3) Supplemental Tables Related to Simulations of DC-M under Alternative Policies; and (4) Supplemental Tables on Reasons for Match Failure and Indeterminate Income.

This document contains Illinois' State Plan for Adult Education and Family Literacy under Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 for July 1, 1999, through June 30, 2015. The plan is comprised of the following sections: (1) Eligible agency certifications and assurances; (2) Description of the steps to ensure direct and equitable access; (3) Integration with other adult education and training activities; (4) Strategies for providing services to target populations; (5) Needs assessment; (6) Description of adult education and literacy activities; (7) Performance measures; (8) Procedures and process of funding eligible providers; (9) Annual evaluation of adult education and literacy activities; (10) Public participation and comment; (11) Descriptions of programs for corrections education and institutionalized individuals; and (12) State leadership activities.

Teachers have the greatest school-based effect on the achievement of any child in their classrooms, but highly effective principals can positively affect the achievement of every student in their schools. The difference between a highly effective principal and an average one is equal to two-to-seven months of extra learning per year for each child in the school. The effect is greatest in high-poverty schools. This confirms the conclusions drawn from case studies of schools where student achievement "beats the odds": no low-achieving school has been turned around without a dynamic and effective principal. For better or for worse, school leaders shape the learning environment for teachers and students. Effective school leaders inspire their staff to improve and create conditions that enable high student achievement. Reforms to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, and compensation will be less successful if attention is not paid to building and improving school leadership. The role of principals has evolved, and policy needs to ensure they are prepared and supported to meet the challenges schools face today. This issue of re:VISION, part 5 of a special series on teacher effectiveness, examines the qualities of successful principals and offers considerations for policymakers who are working to improve their preparation and effectiveness. [For Part 1 of this series, see ED559386; for Part 2, see ED559387; for Part 3, see ED559381; and for Part 4, see ED559388.]

As the U.S. workforce ages, baby boomers retire, and birth rates decline, the United States is facing an estimated shortfall of 8 million workers between now and 2027. At the same time, the U.S. economy is becoming ever more knowledge-based. Having a marketable postsecondary credential, whether an academic degree or a professional certification or license, has become more of a necessity to secure a job that pays a family-sustaining wage. Amid these economic changes, immigrant-origin adults--that is, immigrants and their U.S.-born children--are projected to be the primary source of future labor-force growth. Yet about 30 million of the 58 million immigrant-origin adults in the country as of 2017 did not have a postsecondary credential, representing 30 percent of all U.S. adults without one. These immigrants and their children are thus an important target group for efforts by governments, educational institutions, civil society, and employers to boost the credential attainment of U.S. workers. This report offers a first-of-its-kind profile of immigrant-origin adults without postsecondary credentials, including a look at key sociodemographic characteristics, geographic distribution, and factors such as English proficiency and legal status that can affect their access to workforce programs. It also considers the labor-market returns of nondegree credentials, finding that immigrant-origin adults who hold such certifications or licenses have higher rates of labor-market participation, higher wages, and lower unemployment than counterparts who lack them.

The quality of Illinois schools and the performance of their principals play significant roles in determining the future for children. Their success hinges on recognition that principals play a critical role in shaping the environments in which children learn. Illinois schools can and will be enriched by developing a principal pipeline system that responds to the current and future needs of the schools and students. For nearly a decade, stakeholders throughout Illinois have engaged in work to strengthen principal preparation and development. Efforts to reform the preparation of school leaders began with the Illinois Commission on Principal Preparation (2006), which led to recommendations made by the Illinois Taskforce on School Leadership (2008), and culminating with legislative changes through Illinois Public Act 096-0903. This report presents data on the Type 75 certificate, which qualifies educators for a variety of administrative positions (principal, assistant principal, department chair, athletic director, special education director, etc.).

The focus of this report is to describe the diverse, potentially overlapping range of student outcomes for community college entrants, such as vertical transfer, earning an associate degree, or earning a certificate while taking into consideration differences in college readiness as well as other student characteristics. (Contains 5 figures, 7 tables, and 1 footnote.)

The nation's 1,200 community colleges are well positioned to strengthen the workforce of one of America's most critical sectors--health care. They can provide training and credentialing for incumbent workers in health care and to prepare new workers to succeed in and meet the workforce demands for this sector--expanding individual opportunity and economic vitality. These institutions already enroll nearly half (46 percent) of the nation's postsecondary population and the lion's share of nontraditional students (Choitz 2006). They are developing or enhancing health care-related certificate and degree programs to better serve employers, workers, and communities, while also identifying unique, innovative ways for nontraditional students to access, prepare for, and succeed in these programs. This brief highlights some of the ways in which community colleges are preparing frontline incumbent health care workers and low-income individuals for family-sustaining careers in health care careers--including advancement to allied health care and nursing jobs. A common element among the programs featured is a college's participation in a partnership--whether one-on-one with a local health care employer or in collaboration with employers, workforce development agencies, community organizations, and other funders of and players in local and regional workforce development endeavors. (Contains 17 endnotes.) [This report was written with Jeremy Kelley.]

Chicago's efforts to encourage and support National Board Certification in its public schools serve as a model for a broad community focus on teaching and learning. Thanks to a coalition of Chicago public and private organizations committed to promoting National Board Certification, the number of National Board Certified Teachers in the nation's third-largest public school system rose from 11 to 1,200 in less than a decade. Incredibly, nearly 90 percent of all Chicago teachers who have become NBCTs in the past decade remain in the school system, and school leaders say they are one of the factors behind the improving achievement trends throughout the district. In addition, as NBCTs take on more leadership positions both at the school and district levels, they have begun to spread best practices and help sustain reform. In his role as U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has focused on building human capital in schools and praised the work of NBCTs in Chicago and nationwide. This paper talks about the success of Chicago in its efforts to support the National Board Certification in its public schools.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an Illinois metropolitan program that prepares teachers for administrative and supervisory positions in schools by analyzing, over a 10-year period, its employment outcomes. Overall, from 1995 to 2005, 503 students graduated from the program, 451 of whom with Illinois principal certificates. By Fiscal Year 2007, 168 of the certified candidates had held administrative positions in public schools in Illinois; 38 had served as principals. This rate falls short of the Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE) 2.0 ratio of new certificates issued to new positions filled upon which educator supply and demand projections are made each year. It was recommended that the program continue strengthening practical experiences for its candidates, and expand networking relationships, not just within the city's public school system, but also with suburban school districts. Candidates will then have exposure to more prospective employers. Because of the competitive nature of the administrative sector, it was also recommended that the program work with the schools to develop mechanisms for valorizing and utilizing the leadership skills and technical competencies of the ever-increasing numbers of teachers with administrative certificates, but employed in non-administrative positions. (Contains 1 footnote, figures and 9 tables.)

In 2004, Illinois State University sent a survey out to every school district superintendent in the state with the intent of capturing their perspectives on a variety of timely issues. The respondents to the survey totaled 435 of a possible 889, leaving a 48.9% return rate. A similar process was followed in 2002. The content of those surveys addressed the same major topics, although the questions varied. Accordingly, this series of surveys is not intended to develop a longitudinal data base, but rather a "snapshot" of perspectives of Illinois superintendents during a specific period of time. The 2004 survey included four parts: Part I consisted of questions related to demographic information; Part II asked questions related to current state issues; Part III asked questions pertaining to evaluation of superintendents and principals; and, Part IV solicited information regarding state and local finance. The remainder of this paper summarizes the responses of superintendents within each of these four parts. (Contains 22 tables and 1 chart.)

This report is published jointly by the Institute for Educational Leadership (Washington, DC) and the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) as part of its Issues in Education series. The report focuses on two areas in which state policies and programs can have particular influence on school leadership: licensure, certification and accreditation requirements; and administrator training and professional development. This document is a distillation of the national conversation about school leadership and principal preparation programs. It also presents promising approaches and practices as illustrated by selected changes being made or promoted in and/or across state systems, in local school districts, in universities and colleges, and in new provider organizations across the nation. (Contains 5 boxes and 27 footnotes.)

The study examines the early career paths of a random sample of individuals who earned their Illinois Type 75 administrative certificates in 1999-2000. (Contains 2 footnotes, 7 charts and 8 tables.)

Illinois' policy makers recognize the importance of reading competency to success in school. In this paper we summarize the findings of several recent national reports on reading and consider their findings for Illinois' reading initiatives. The paper also provides an overview of reading programs and certification in Illinois, including the Assessment of Professional Teaching examination that will be required for initial certification in October 2003.

This study surveyed directors of licensed and license-exempt early childhood programs in Illinois. Participating were 840 directors who responded to a mailed survey sent to 2,325 directors. Respondents were predominantly white (89 percent), with directors of color representing 11 percent of the sample. Results indicated that the majority of directors felt unprepared when they first assumed administrative positions. They indicated that on-the-job training contributed most to their current level of knowledge and skill. Directors reported that their greatest satisfaction was running a quality program, working with children or parents, and helping others. The greatest frustrations were with staffing issues, individual staff, parents, and lack of funds, time, and poor staff compensation. Mechanisms of support cited as helpful included networking and newsletters. Most believed that a professional organization focusing on directors' needs was needed. Ninety-one percent perceived benefits to developing an Illinois Director Credential. Focus group interviews with 38 directors were held to increase the sample of directors of color and Head Start directors (47% African American, 16% Hispanic, 8% Indian and 29% white). The focus group results indicated that directors were disappointed about the lack of training when they first became administrators. Networking and pooling of resources was named as the greatest resource for directors. They identified a need to be connected to the broader early childhood community. (Appendices include data collection instruments and a list of key informants.) (Author/KB)

Principals who are strong, effective, responsive leaders help to inspire and enhance the abilities of their teachers and other school staff to do excellent work. Such principals also tend to retain great teachers and create opportunities for them to take on new leadership roles. This leads to the following key question: What can state policymakers do to help ensure that schools have excellent principals who advance teaching and learning for all students? The answer: Quite a bit, actually. The research informing this report identifies three crucial areas leaders across all states can usefully consider as they seek answers to this key question: (1) State policy agendas that address school principals along with other priorities; (2) State policy levers available to state leaders as they attempt to identify and train aspiring principals and support those already on the job; and (3) the contextual factors within states and local communities that affect how state policies or initiatives for principals are likely to unfold in practice. The report emphasizes that every state faces a unique blend of educational, political and financial circumstances and that, therefore, each state's approach should fit its needs and particularities.

Digital badges--defined as digital credentials that convey an array of skills, interests, and achievements--are steadily growing in acceptance as a way to validate learning that takes place not only in school but also at home and in a number of other out-of-school settings. This report builds on the growing body of literature about digital badge systems by providing insight into how they are being used to enrich course curriculum in formal academic settings and enhance professional learning for educators in libraries and other out-of-school environments. It also explores the types of partnerships and policies that have played a critical role in helping these systems to flourish. Although many of the examples described in this report are in the early stages of implementation, these emerging digital badge systems illustrate the multiple ways they are supporting college and career readiness.

The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) reviewed data on 21 states' principal licensure requirements, conducted structured interviews with experts on principal preparation and professional development in 7 states, and spoke with staff at the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Institute for School Leadership. Our research reveals an array of administrator licensure titles assigned to grade-level authority across states, some permitting principals or administrators the flexibility to oversee programs ranging from early childhood through high school. To date, only Illinois has included early childhood content specifically in their licensure and accreditation processes. Early childhood content is not a required element of principal preparation or professional development for principals in most states, according to our findings. Very few states have any formal requirement for early childhood content in licensure for principals responsible for early education programs. Some states have developed policies and programs that acknowledge a need for integrating early childhood content (DE, IL, MD, NJ, PA, WA), but very few have progressed beyond initial stages of providing training or outlining policies. An appendix presents the Principal Interview Protocol. Acknowledgement and endnotes are also provided.

This paper presents a profile of Illinois' Quality Counts prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators for Family Child Care Programs; (5) Application Process; (6) Outreach; (7) Use of Observational Tools; (8) Improvement Process; (9) Financial Incentives; (10) Administration Details; (11) Partners; (12) Linkage of QRS with Other Systems; (13) Evaluation; and (14) Key Contacts. [This document was prepared for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation of the Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.]