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Continuum OverviewAspiringLaunchingBuildingMastering

The Launching stage occurs during years 1 and 2. This stage provides new learning leaders with the skills, resources, and community of peers necessary to cultivate culture, assess systems, increase learning, and understand the leadership necessary for the unique context of their learning organization. See below for the resources the IPA has available to support Launching leaders.

Lead

School Leader Paradigm: The Research
This School Leader Paradigm companion provides a comprehensive listing of the extensive research reviewed to identify the critical leadership dispositions and essential behaviors school leaders must possess and exhibit to be effective.

School Leader Paradigm: The Learning Resources
The School Leader Paradigm companion document provides a comprehensive listing of school leadership learning resources.

School Leadership That Fits
Looking for a school leadership position that's right for you? In this impactful document, find tips and resources to assist with finding the right leadership opportunity, crafting a resume, preparing for an interview, drafting an employment contract, and much more.

Request a Resume Review
Request to have your resume reviewed for improvements and to ensure it follows best practices for school leaders. 

Request a Contract Review
Request to have your employment contract reviewed by the IPA's in-house general counsel to assure it contains all appropriate employment and due process protections.  IPA also provides a model employment contract for members.
Legal Support
The IPA is one of the few principal's associations in the nation fortunate enough to have its own in-house general counsel. With this unique resource, you are able to gain support with issues ranging from your own employment contract to student issues to staff concerns to legislation recently passed into law.

Salary & Benefits Survey
The IPA publishes an annual salary and benefits survey of principals, APs, and deans, which is an informative and useful tool for contract negotiations.  In partnership with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, the IPA also provides an online salary modeling tool to allow you to generate projected positional salaries using various metrics.

IPA Talks
IPA Talks are casual chats between IPA staff and experts in the field of education about the day's hottest topics. Subjects cover a range of topics including school law, safety, assessment, the educator pipeline, and school leadership. Episodes can be found on the IPA's website or YouTube channel.

IPA Member Assistance Program
This critical support includes confidential social-emotional support, work-life solutions, financial solutions, and more. With the added stressors school leaders are managing, it's imperative for you, member principals, assistant principals, deans, and other administrators to have access to this valuable service. Importantly, this benefit is available to you and your family.

School Leader Entry Plan
Get started in a new school leadership position well. This resource will guide you through the process of developing your own entry plan that will assist you with intentionally getting up to speed on the culture, systems, and learning of your new learning organization.

School Leader Calendar
Use this tool to stay focused, organized, and growing. The School Leader Calendar provides you with monthly lists of important responsibilities and legal requirements. Additionally, it offers dates to remember (some just for fun) as well as critical professional learning opportunities and resources.

Cycle of Inquiry
The Cycle of Inquiry is a mechanism to make the School Leader Paradigm a living, breathing leadership framework. Through the four steps of planning, implementing, assessing, and reflecting, it provides you an intentional pathway for the continuous improvement of your learning organization.

School Leader Evaluation Plan
The School Leader Evaluation Plan assists school districts with the development of an evaluation system that helps school leaders grow their leadership dispositions and the skills necessary for them to do their work effectively throughout their career. The plan is designed to help school districts understand the importance of evaluations done properly, the critical role a leader's supervisor plays in the evaluation process, a roadmap for conducting the evaluation process well, and tools available to districts to create a reflective, growth-minded school leader evaluation plan.

School Leader Hiring Guide

Hiring a new school leader is one of the most critical decisions that a learning organization can make. Taking the time to develop a strong recruitment and selection process is essential to a successful search. When done well, the process results in a strong, diverse applicant pool, candidates whose talents match the needs of the learning organization, and enhances leadership succession. Use this School Leader Paradigm resource to Plan, Recruit, and Select the school leader that best meets the needs of your learning organization right now.

Model Student Handbook
The online Model Student Handbook is a cost-effective service that provides you with quick, easy access to model student handbook procedures. The MSH is attorney-drafted and fully aligned with PRESS, the Illinois Association of School Board's school district policy service, as well as state, federal, and case law that change on a frequent basis.

Model Student Handbook AI

The IPA's Model Student Handbook AI tool adds a layer to the handbook that is easy to use, more efficient, personalized to each school in your district, and answers questions from parents and students in many different languages.

Engage

IPA on Facebook
IPA on X
IPA on YouTube
The PrinciPal
Look for The PrinciPal to hit your inbox early every Friday morning. In it, you will find important IPA updates and information from the field that will support your work as a school leader.

IPA Connect

This online space is for you and your member colleagues to support and encourage one another in real time and share resources. IPA Connect provides you the privacy needed to ask and answer the hard questions that come with the profession.

IPA Plugging In & Breaking Out
During the school year, IPA Members gather virtually the first Wednesday of every month to connect with and encourage one another. Updates from the field are provided by members of the IPA Team.

IPA Region Meetings
The IPA consists of 21 Regions, which offers a terrific opportunity for you to connect and build relationships with colleagues. Be on the lookout for social gatherings, recognition programs, and learning opportunities.

IPA Committees

The IPA has four standing statewide committees responsible for conducting important association business - Legislative, Membership, Assistant Principal, and Diversity & Equity. Frequently, members are asked to consider applying to chair these committees as a member of the IPA Board of Directors or represent their Regions as a sitting member of the committees.

IPA Education Leaders Annual Conference
Held every October in Peoria, the IPA Educational Leaders Annual Conference provides the opportunity to hear from dynamic, nationally recognized keynote speakers, attend practitioner-led small group sessions, and connect with peers from throughout the state. Attendees may elect to earn professional development hours for conference participation. Members are encouraged to join the conference planning committee to support the profession and contribute to the conference's success.

WELL Summit
The Women in Education Leading and Learning Summit in March is an event to empower, connect, inspire, support, celebrate, and develop women in educational leadership. The two-day event features nationally recognized keynote speakers, small group sessions, and plenty of time for participants to network and socialize. The Summit is a partnership between 18 organizations

I-Grow Summit
The I-Grow Summit for Educational Leaders and Teachers of Color is the first event in Illinois with the specific goal to grow, retain, and recruit educational leaders and teachers of color. Held in April, the Summit is a partnership between 10 organizations.

AP/Dean Summit North
Held in Villa Park in June, the Assistant Principal/Dean Summit provides an opportunity for networking, recognition, and support among school leaders in similar positions. Hear from dynamic speakers and presenters during this 1-day event.

AP/Dean Summit South

This 2-day event held in Effingham in January provides assistant principals and deans an opportunity for networking, recognition, and support among school leaders in similar positions. Administrator Academy credit is also available for attendees.

Advocate

Advocacy in Action Newsletters

Get regular updates on legislative activity happening at the state and federal level. When the General Assembly is in session, look for these to show up in your inbox almost every week.

Legislative & Case Law Update
This comprehensive guide is published annually and summarizes all new laws, court cases, and other enactments that impact building level leaders.  Helpful implementation tips and considerations are included.

IPA Policy & Action Center
Use the IPA Policy & Action Center to help you identify and connect with your elected officials at the state and federal level. Legislative information and ideas for legislative engagement are provided, including action alerts and talking points when needed.

Principal For A Day & Principal Partners

Engaging in advocacy through programs like Principal for a Day and Principal Partners empowers you to build meaningful relationships with legislators, showcase the realities of school leadership, and influence education policy firsthand. These initiatives provide a platform for you to elevate the voices of your students, staff, and communities—ensuring that decisions made at the state and federal levels are informed by those who understand education best.

IPA Bill Tracker

Each year, the Illinois General Assembly introduces hundreds of bills that impact legislation. To help you keep tabs on legislation that most effects school leaders, leverage the IPA's Bill Tracker that summarizes legislation and informs you how it is progressing through the legislative process.

IPA Legislative Platform

Curious as to the IPA's position on various policy related issues? Be sure to review the association's Legislative Platform. It covers the principalship, principal evaluation and support, school funding, educator preparation, school accountability, mandates & reform, special education, curriculum, and the school environment & construction.

Learn

Launching Excellent Leaders Academy

An engaging and transformative academy for new Illinois school leaders (first- and second-year) to make an immediate positive impact on their schools. Expand your professional network. Earn Administrator Academy credit. Receive school leader resources. Explore ways to build relationships and create a positive school culture. acquire tips, strategies, and inspiration to ensure your first 90 days as a school leader are a success.

Ed Leaders Network Leadership Courses
The Ed Leaders Network (ELN) is an online professional learning platform designed to support educators and school leaders across the country.  Over 90 School Leader Paradigm aligned courses are available on ELN for you to enhance your leadership dispositions and skills.

Ed Leaders Network Teacher Evaluation Calibration Videos

ELN houses calibration video exercises designed to provide teacher evaluators and observers with opportunities to calibrate their perceptions of (1) effective instructional practice related to the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching Domains and Components and (2) high-quality, written feedback. A further goal of the exercises is to increase inter-rater reliability as well as build a common understanding of high-quality practice and feedback grounded in evidence collected during observations.

Ed Leaders Network Mandated Trainings
ELN provides state-mandated training for Illinois educators. Through a partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education, this training (and all other ELN courses) are available to public school educators in Illinois at no cost.

Ed Leaders Network Webinars

Throughout the year, ELN provides several free webinars each month on a variety of timely and relevant topics to educators across the country. These one-hour sessions spotlight new strategies, leadership tips, and tools that attendees can consider for immediate use. Attendees of the live webinars may earn professional development credit. All webinars are recorded for future viewing.

Ed Leaders Network Micro-Credentials
Micro-Credentials offer a personalized learning opportunity to use your knowledge and experience to earn a digital badge that demonstrates your mastery of specific leadership skills. The Micro-Credentials are aligned to the Leadership Dimensions under the three Domains of the School Leader Paradigm - Culture, Systems, and Learning.  They are worth 20 hours of PD credit, Administrator Academy credit, and support pathways to school leadership licensure at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Aurora University.

Administrator Academies

The IPA has more than 100 ISBE-approved academies developed and led by content experts with school and/or district leadership experience. The Association develops new topics that meet changing school and legal needs and state professional learning requirements. Academies are available in-person, live online, and on-demand.

Teacher and Principal Evaluator Initial Training and Retraining

The IPA provides ISBE-required Administrator Academies for individuals needing to earn their teacher and/or principal evaluator intial training and retraining. Earned evaluator designations appear on an Illinois educator's Professional Educator License (PEL).

Mentoring Services

Are you a new principal, assistant principal, or dean? If so, you face unique challenges as you transition into a new career role. Consider the support of a trained mentor to provide you with strategic questioning and opportunities for reflection, feedback, guided planning, and motivation to sustain your leadership in ongoing professional development.

PD Scholarship
Three $1000 professional learning scholarships are awarded to IPA members each year, one for an elementary principal (K-5), one for a middle school principal (6-8), and one for a secondary principal (9-12). The scholarships are available to assist with the pursuit of graduate study, attendance at national conferences, and attendance at other relevant professional development to deepen your capacity as a learning leader leading your learning organization.