Aspiring School Leader Network

The goal of the IPA Aspiring School Leader Network is to establish the mindset, leadership intelligences, and community of peers necessary for aspiring administrators to envision themselves as future learning leaders. This network is designed to serve pre-service leaders.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the impact that learning leaders have on their learning organizations.
2. Explore the School Leader Paradigm, specifically investigating the intelligences that make you who you are as a leader.
3. Understand the administrative job search process.
4. Expand your tool box for leading deep systems change to improve learning through shared leadership.
5. Understand the value of a Professional Learning Network (PLN).

Leading Objectives

All members of the Network Team are experienced educators and school leaders. Many of the team members have moved out of the role of building leader, some as recently as this year, yet all remain in education leadership positions.

Network Leaders

The Team Leaders will present the activities at all sessions which will be highly interactive and provide new learning, application strategies, pitfalls to avoid, reflection, and collegial sharing as well as resources and tools to support leadership development and actions. In addition, they will be available to individually support network members throughout the program.

Dr. Anthony McConnell, Superintendent

Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A

As a school administrator, Dr. McConnel has served as both an assistant principal and principal as well as an assistant superintendent. As principal of Kipling Elementary School in Deerfield, IL, Dr. McConnel led the school in construction of STEM learning spaces, implementation of 1:1 learning, and adoption of The Leader in Me process. In his final year as principal, Kipling was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Read more about Dr. McConnell.

Dr. Scott Schwartz, Superintendent

Gavin School District 37

Dr. Schwartz is an experienced school leader with a demonstrated history of working in the primary education industry. He is a US Department of Education National Blue Ribbon Recipient and is skilled in K-8 Education, staff development, human capital, literacy, classroom management, and lesson planning.

Participants will receive a plethora of resources and tools to build their leadership reading library and support their work as a school leader.

$750 registration fee includes participation in the network and an IPA Aspiring membership.

Network registration includes Annual Conference Sunday reception and Monday Annual Conference attendance. Tuesday of the Annual Conference can be added on for an extra $50. Registrants will also receive a copy of The Principled Principal: 10 Principles for Leading Exceptional Schools by Jeffrey Zoul and Anthony McConnell

Dates

New principals, assistant and associate principals, and administrators face new tasks, responsibilities, and decisions on a regular basis and need an “expert” to not only coach but to mentor and provide instructional mentoring. As part of the comprehensive leadership development offered by the Illinois Principals Association, highly trained and experienced mentors are available to IPA professional development program participants and districts. Find out more here.