By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – Illinois State University has been awarded a $12.5 million dollar grant to improve school leadership.

ISU’s Center for the Study of Education Policy will use the money for its TEAM Lead (Together Everyone Achieves More Through Integrated Leadership) initiative that will engage principals and other school leaders in 101 public and private high-need schools in rural, suburban, and urban settings across the state over the next three years.

“Through distributed leadership practices and an intentional focus on instructional improvements, the SAM (School Administration Manager) process allows principals to devote a greater portion of their time working with teachers on problems of practice,” said Alicia Haller, co-director of TEAM Lead.

The project aims to empower principals to more effectively engage teachers and staff in schoolwide instructional improvement efforts. The plan is intended to help principals devote more time to working with teachers while redirecting many administrative tasks to other staff.

“This grant is about systematic improvement, and the best way to do that is by building regional capacity,” said Erika Hunt, TEAM Lead co-director and senior policy analyst and researcher for ISU’s CSEP. “After the grant is complete, the ROEs will be able to sustain this work by working in partnership with their districts and local universities.”