 Secretary Duncan Participates in DC VOICE Town Hall with IEL Staffers
Recently, as part of his Listening & Learning tour, Sec. Duncan paid a visit to Luke C. Moore Academy Senior High School in North East Washington, D.C., Ward 5. He joined more than 100 educators, parents, students, policymakers, and community members in a town hall discussion on improving education. Conversation at each table focused on two major topics: community schools and teacher quality. Read more and view video of this town hall.
POSITION AVAILABLE: Temporary Staff Position at the Coaliton for Community Schools
The Coalition for Community Schools is currently seeking a temporary staff person to help launch our new website and provide support for the 2010 National Forum.
View the full job description.
IEL in partnership with ACES, Advanced Innovation, LSU, and SCSU will hold conference for Leaders in Education
This National Leadership Conference will be held on January 6-8, 2010 at the Cook Conference Center in Baton Rouge, LA. The conference will engage school leaders and school policymakers, who are working towards sustainable systemic change, in conversations about the leadership skills needed to navigate the politics and policies they encounter at a local, state and national level. Register.
NCWD/Youth Testifies at the U.S. Department of Labor on WIA Reauthorization
Joan Wills from the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) testified before the Assistant Secretaries of the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Employment and Training Administration at the Department of Labor’s Listening Session on the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). WIA has been up for reauthorization for several years and the listening session was designed to collect input from expert in the disability employment field. Wills laid out 5 broad strategy areas that need to be taken into account when improving the WIA.
Read the news release and testimony.
William “Bill” Turner (EPFP 77-78) receives Lifetime of Service Award from the Appalachian Studies Association
Dr. William “Bill” Turner (EPFP 77-78), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) chair in Appalachian Studies at Berea College, received the Lifetime of Service Award from the Appalachian Studies Association for promoting the experience and histories of African Americans in Appalachia. For more information about Dr. Turner and his work read the Berea College Magazine  .
How Can Schools Address Early Chronic Absence?
What is Early Chronic Absence? AERA and IEL invite you to the Education Policy Forum Luncheon on October 9th (12 pm ) to learn more about national and local early chronic absence data (New York City and Grand Rapids, MI). Also, a middle school principal will share strategies that have worked for him in tackling this issue. Download the flyer now!
IEL Receives $3.5 Million for National Mentoring Program
The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) announces its selection to receive approximately $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for a 3-year national mentoring program to serve youth with disabilities at-risk of truancy or court-involvement. Through this infusion of resources, research-based strategies, and cross-system collaboration, the RAMP program will match trained mentors to youth with disabilities to reduce court involvement and/or recidivism; increase career preparation and development work-readiness skills for the youth in the program.
Read the news release.
Youth Today names IEL's Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) one of The Best Fellowships in Youth Work
Youth Today spotlights IEL's Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP), in their article: The Best Fellowships in Youth Work . EPFP led the list of 10 leadership development opportunities identified across the country. This program helps broaden your professional, peer assistance network, and increases your knowledge base about “what works, where” to support the growth and development of all children and youth. Learn more now!
IEL Partners with PBS’ POV to Promote Important Story About Principal Leadership and Principals Making a Difference
 The Principal Story by Tod Lending and David Mrazek will have its national premiere on September 15 at 10 PM on PBS (check your local listings)
The Principal Story tells two stories, painting a dramatic portrait of the challenges facing America's public schools — and of the great difference a dedicated principal can make. Tresa Dunbar is a second-year principal at Chicago's Nash Elementary, where 98% of students come from low-income families; in Springfield, Illinois, Kerry Purcell has led Harvard Park Elementary, with similar demographics, for six years. Tod Lending (Omar & Pete, POV 2005) and David Mrazek followed both women over the course of a school year, discovering each one's unique styles yet similar passions. The Principal Story takes the viewer along for an emotional ride that reveals what effective educational leadership looks like in the 21st century.
To find out more, visit: http://www.pbs.org/pov/principalstory/
IEL President Martin Blank quoted in AP story on St. Louis full-service schools
The St. Louis Public School District has revamped 13 schools to offer new academic, health and social services to students, their families and community members, ranging from onsite health checks for children to job support for the unemployed. For more information read the full article .
IEL Seeks Applicants for The Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP™): Deadline August 2009
IEL’s flagship leadership program is EPFP, a 10-month in-service professional development program celebrating its 46th year with the Class of 2009-10. With over 6500 alumni spread across the nation, it is designed to prepare mid-level leaders in public and private organizations to exercise greater responsibility in creating and implementing sound public policy in education and related fields. EPFP™ participants hold full-time positions in diverse organizations at the local, state, and national levels. The program currently operates through sites in Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC. For more information on the program and applying, please visit the EPFP™ website or contact the program associate at wilcoxs@iel.org.
Louis Fabrizio (EPFP 79-80) Appointed to National Education Task Force
Dr. Louis Fabrizio (EPFP 79-80), director of Accountability Policy and Communications at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), has been appointed to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization Task Force. Fabrizio will join about a dozen federal government liaisons, state education officials and state education agency staff from across the country in a new effort to review, update and provide recommendations to Congress regarding the ESEA, which was reauthorized in 2001 by President Bush as the No Child Left Behind Act.
For more information read the full press release . (Also available as a Word document  .)
American Educator Spotlights Community Schools
 Get your copy now of American Educator's most recent issue, Surrounded by Support, spotlighting Community Schools! Community school leaders: Richard Rothstein, Ira Harkavy, Jane Quinn, Joy Dryfoos, Marty Blank, and more, assert that coordinated partnerships between communities and schools is key to offering services to youth, families, and communities.
Email this issue to policymakers, school administrators, colleagues, and your networks!
IEL Names Martin Blank President
 The Board of Directors of the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) has named Martin Blank (Marty) as its new President. Blank has served as the Director of the Coalition for Community Schools at IEL for the past decade where he has skillfully crafted a vibrant national movement for deeper relationships between schools and communities. That vision is shared by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Marty will continue that focus as part of his leadership of IEL.
For more information read the full press release . (Also available as a Word document .)
Rebecca Cokley with President Obama
 In honor of Women’s History Month and the key role women play in our economy, IEL Project Coordinator, Rebecca Cokley received a special invitation to the White House Wednesday, March 11th where President Obama signed an Executive Order to create the White House Council on Women and Girls. EPFP Fellow and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis was also in attendance.
Click image to enlarge.
NCWD/Youth Releases Guide on the Needs of Youth involved, or at risk of being involved in the Juvenile Corrections System
Making the Right Turn: A Guide About Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth Involved in the Juvenile Corrections System
(PDF or Microsoft Word)
Youth with emotional disturbances comprise over 47.4 percent of students with disabilities in secure care, while within public schools they account for only about eight percent of students with disabilities. Students with Learning Disabilities are also overrepresented in the juvenile justice system and account for 38.6 percent of students with disabilities in these settings. This Guide provides professionals with well-researched and documented facts, offers evidence-based research, highlights promising practices, and provides the Guideposts for Success for Youth Involved in the Juvenile Corrections System, in addition to pointing out areas requiring further attention by policymakers and identifying promising practices.
This Guide adds to the overall work that can be found on NCWD/Youth’s website which includes the National Association of State Directors of Special Education’s publication Tools for Promoting Educational Success and Reducing Delinquency and the National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk toolkit Meeting the Educational Needs of Youth Exposed to the Juvenile Justice System.
The Community Agenda for America’s Public Schools
On September 24, 2008, the Coalition for Community Schools (CCS) announced The Community Agenda for America’s Public Schools at the National Press Club. (The CCS is staffed by and housed at IEL.) The Agenda already has garnered support from 120+ organizations and individuals from a variety of sectors. Panelists at the briefing (see listed below) emphasized the importance of coordination and collaboration of support services and schools—and argued that schools need to once again become the “hubs of their communities.” Panelists included: Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers; Warren Simmons, Executive Director, Annenberg Institute for School Reform; Anne Bryant, Executive Director, National School Boards Association; Linda Juszczak, Interim Executive Director, National Assembly on School Based Health Care; Jodi Grant, Executive Director, Afterschool Alliance; Ira Harkavy, Director, Netter Center for Community Partnership at the University of Pennsylvania; Martin Blank, Director, Coalition for Community Schools. For more information visit The Community Agenda for America's Public Schools at: www.thecommunityagenda.org.
View Previous News Items |
