The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between specific leadership behaviors and student achievement in Illinois high schools excluding those within the Chicago Public School System. The leadership behaviors examined in this study include setting direction, developing people, redesigning the organization, and improving the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the life and work of Frank William Westhoff (1863-1938), a leader in music education during the progressive era (circa 1890s-1950s). Research questions focused on his work as a music supervisor, teacher educator, pedagogue, and textbook author. I also explored Westhoff's contributions to the profession and…

Psychological Capital, developed by Fred Luthans as a byproduct of the positive psychology movement, involve the study of how applied positive states, attributes, and behaviors can improve performance in the workplace. An organization's leader needs a proactive, positive approach that emphasizes hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism to…

This quantitative study investigated the relationships among elementary school principals' efficacy beliefs (Instructional, Moral, and Management Leadership), principals' goal expectations for student achievement (expected outcome), and their impacts on actual student achievement. Two hundred and fifty elementary school principals completed an…

Since the fall of 2012, Illinois principal preparation programs have been operating under new state requirements intended to produce highly qualified and effective school principals capable of leading Illinois schools to higher levels of student academic performance. The rules guiding new program development are applied with a broad stroke,…

This study examined foodservice outsourcing in the State of Illinois. School administrators currently outsourcing foodservice were surveyed about their perceptions of HB1347 and its components. This study looked at HB1347 in Illinois, and its effects on outsourcing in school districts. Data for this study was collected from a survey sent to 100%…

This report focuses on the perceptions and experiences of teachers and administrators during the first year of REACH implementation, which was in many ways a particularly demanding year. These experiences can be helpful to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and to other districts across the country as they work to restructure and transform teacher…

This report, the third in an IERC series on public school principals in Illinois, summarizes the results of a survey of 877 Illinois public school principals conducted by the IERC in November 2010. The purpose of the survey, and of this report, is to provide policymakers and the public with a better understanding of the important role principals…

This research study explored the concept of capacity building and motivation of staff by school leadership teams in the successful development and implementation of educational initiatives, specifically Response to Intervention (RtI). A great deal of scholarship has addressed leadership and its effect on motivation, but few studies have…

The economic crisis has had--and will continue to have--a dramatic effect on tax revenue and education spending throughout the United States and beyond. Yet children still show up for school every day in need of an education. In times like these, educators and school business managers must be as committed as ever to providing it. The economic…

This case study explored a high-achieving elementary school on Chicago's far South Side that fosters academic success for its African American students who come from predominately low-income homes. Tyler School serves a demographic group that historically underperforms. Yet multiple measures of evaluating student achievement indicate that Tyler is…

This report examines the roles and perceptions of Chicago Public Schools' principals, drawing upon Consortium surveys and principal interviews. Consortium Senior Analyst Sara Ray Stoelinga is the lead author of this report. She was assisted by Holly Hart and David Schalliol. Key findings in the research reveal that principal turnover is a pressing…

The rationale for taking bold action on the nation's persistently failing schools can be summed up in one dramatic and disturbing statistic: half of the young Americans who drop out of high school attend just 12 percent of the nation's schools. Ending the cycle of failure at schools is a daunting challenge and a surprisingly controversial one.…

Induction has become an increasingly popular strategy for school districts across the country that seek solutions for high attrition rates among teachers who are new to the profession. In Illinois public schools, the attrition rate among new teachers can be as high as 40 percent after only five years on the job. Such turnover levels are costly for…

Concludes that teacher evaluations should focus more on teacher improvement, that there should be more student involvement in the evaluation process, that there should be fewer but more comprehensive evaluations, and that administrators who carry out the evaluations should be better trained. (FL)