The program aligns to the Illinois Standards for School Leaders, the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium standards and the Education Leadership Constituent Council standards. Illinois lawmakers recently approved the state's new standards, which must be implemented by July 1, 2003. Themes of the 18-month program, which began in January, are leadership and ethical decision making, community and policy, instructional development and school improvement. The average experience of the 18 women and 12 men is 8.6 years. Few, if any, are expected to leave after completing their Ed.S. work.
People see the district is growing.
They see there are going to be some openings. If some newly qualified administrators do leave, Dunk said, the district's money still was well spent. If they stick around for a few years or five years and haven't gotten a leadership position and decide to move on, we're the better for those five years. The key is in how the program works, he said. Also, unlike most university courses, NIU professors are team-teaching in District 155.