Regional Office of Education #17 Awarded $4M Grant
from the US Department of Education
Award will impact DeWitt, Livingston, Logan, and McLean counties

 

[December 15, 2021]   The Regional Office of Education #17, in collaboration with our partners at ROEs 1, 19, 21, 28, and 50, have been awarded a five-year, $4 million dollar Education, Innovation and Research (EIR) Early-Phase grant by the US Department of Education.

Additionally, partners involved will contribute $400K through in-kind contributions to the project. The award provides funding to the Learning While Leading (LWL) project, which aims to increase principal effectiveness by supporting aspiring and novice school leaders with evidence-based professional learning activities. The new grant will support 40 schools and provide funding for researchers at WestEd to rigorously evaluate the project in order to provide insight into effective solutions to persistent educational challenges and to support the expansion of effective solutions that can serve substantially larger numbers of students.

LWL will serve predominantly rural and high-needs schools, apply a multi-level professional support structure providing pre-service training and coaching focused on supporting aspiring leaders in successfully completing action research; providing placement and induction support, and on-going, job-embedded professional development during the in-service phase as a new principal; and earning advanced credentials through the successful completion of the Leadership for Equity micro credentials.

Additionally, LWL connects with the State Education Agency (SEA) and Regional Offices of Education throughout the state in order to build local, regional, and state supports for further scaling and sustainability.

ROE #17 provides support to schools in DeWitt, Livingston, Logan, and McLean counties. ROEs are legislatively created education agencies that provide support to all schools in their region and act as a liaison between districts and the Illinois State Board of Education. Additionally, PTL2 participating ROEs serve as Leadership Hubs for their entire Educational Service Area. For more information on the LWL project, please contact: Molly Allen at [e-mail]

[Victoria Padilla
Assistant to the Regional Superintendent
Regional Office of Education #17]