April 2010

Dear Colleague,

Despite the challenges we are currently facing, I hope this email finds you well and enjoying the sunny spring days. It goes without saying that there is plenty going on in education between budget issues, pension reform, Race To The Top, ESEA Reauthorization, and by the way, educating kids. Thank you for your continued service to your students, teachers and learning community. Leaders worth remembering, though they would not wish these challenges on anyone, thrive on the opportunity to persist and persevere through times such as these. More importantly, leaders worth remembering give those they serve the confidence that persistence and perseverance is attainable and will make them all better for the experience. Be confident that the IPA is and will always be here to support you, your students and learning communities through this tough stretch. We can and will make it together. Do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the organization if there is something we can do to assist you. Please read further for a few updates.

Half-Time - We are sitting at "half-time" for the spring legislative session. I encourage you to stay informed as the things can move quickly. The recent pension reform legislation proves this. To get up to speed, the March 30 Alliance report provides a nice, succinct recap of what occurred the past 10 weeks. http://www.iasb.com/govrel/alr9653.cfm.

Potential Job Losses - Teacher layoffs and school staff job cuts could top 20,000 next school year based on a comprehensive survey of Illinois school districts by six leading education stakeholders. To read more click here.

ESEA Reauthorization - On March 14, 2010, President Obama offered his "Blueprint" for the reauthorization of ESEA. The full document can be found on the US Department of Education's website. NAESP, NASSP, NEA, NSBA, and AASA offer a joint statement on the reauthorization of ESEA which can be found by clicking here. In the coming months, the IPA will be developing an ESEA Reauthorization Tool Kit for members to use to communicate with federal lawmakers about the "Blueprint" as well as federal reforms needed that will truly have a positive impact on student learning.

Common Core Standards - On March 10, 2010, the National Governor's Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the first official draft of the K-12 standards as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The proposed standards can be viewed by clicking the link below.
Common Core Draft Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics

Job Search Assistance Workshop - The IPA will be offering a Job Search Assistance Workshop on April 24, 2010 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the IPA Office, 2940 Baker Drive, Springfield, IL 62703. Topics to be covered include:

• The Job Search Process
• Resume and Cover Letter Development
• Interview Preparation
• Contract Development

Presenters include Jason Leahy, IPA Executive Director, Brian Schwartz, IPA Associate Director/General Counsel and Dr. David Turner, IPA Executive Director Emeritus and instructor at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The registration fee is $50 to cover the cost of lunch and workshop materials. Participation will be limited to 40 IPA members taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Click here to download the registration form.

IPA Upgrades Technology - The IPA continues to enhance technology usage in order to improve service and connectivity to members. On March 1st, the Association migrated to a new, online database created by Avectra called "NetForum". The IPA staff has worked diligently to make the first phase of the migration as seamless and unobtrusive as possible for you, the IPA member. Hopefully, you have already experienced more timely email confirmations when registering for events and updating your membership. Please do note that email correspondence such as "The PrinciPal Connection,Alliance Legislative Reports," and "Professional Development Activities" is now being sent from the IPA via administrator@ilprincipals.org. If you have not been receiving these messages as expected, please speak with your IT professional to ensure your email account is not blocking the message or flagging it as junk mail or spam. Do not hesitate to contact the IPA office if you need further assistance.

The second phase of the database migration involves YOU as it will, in time, bring several exciting new member services. Improved functionality will be added to the IPA website to allow you to interact directly with your IPA account. You will maintain ownership of your IPA member account which will give you access to online event registration and membership renewal, the ability to update your membership and personal account information, access to the IPA online storefront and the ability to join an online professional network of your IPA member colleagues.

As the second phase of the database migration begins in mid-April to early May, the IPA will request your partnership via email to quickly verify and maintain your personal account information. In addition to ensuring your name, job title, place of employment, address, phone number, email, etc. is correct, the IPA will also need you to input your salary information into your account. As you are aware, IPA dues are calculated according to your salary, so it is important that this information is correct and kept up-to-date in order to offer you the appropriate membership dues rate. If your salary information is left blank, your dues calculation will default to the maximum rate until further verification.

The IPA has invested its time and resources into this new technology in order to better serve you: the IPA member. Thank you for your cooperation and patience as the IPA works to more effectively live out its mission of advancing learning through effective educational leadership.

Ourth/Singleton Scholarship - In an effort to recognize the contributions of John Ourth and Fred Singleton to the Illinois Principals Association, the IPA Board of Directors unanimously approved the creation of two professional development scholarships in their honor at the IPA Conference in October 2007. Two $750 scholarships will be awarded each year to IPA Members, one for an elementary administrator (K-8) and one for a secondary administrator (9-12).The purpose of the Illinois Principals Association scholarship is to provide scholarship grants to assist individuals in the pursuit of graduate study, attendance at national conferences, and attendance at other relevant professional development to further the capacities of school administrators to be instructional leaders. More information can be found at http://www.ilprincipals.org/pages/ipa_scholarship.html. Applications are due to the IPA office by May 15, 2010.

IPA Awards Program - The IPA is now accepting nominations for the following awards:

• Innovative Education
• Community Service
• Friend of Education
• Partners in Education
• Herman Graves

Don't miss an opportunity to recognize excellence in the profession. Nominations are due to Region Directors by April 30. More information about the IPA Awards Program along with nomination forms can be found at http://www.ilprincipals.org/pages/awards_program.html.

My best to you as you finish out the school year. Again, do not hesitate to call the IPA if there is anything we can do for you. We are only a phone call away.

For the Association,
Jason

(Jason Leahy, IPA Executive Director, provides State of the Association updates each quarter)