Better Reporting And Accountability For School Leader Preparation Program

With the start of school in Tennessee only a few weeks away, many students are excited to meet their teachers for the new school year. Teachers are so important to students’ experiences and success in the classroom, but there are additional educators in the building who are also critical to setting a positive culture of support and high expectations: school leaders (Leithwood and Jantzi, 1990). The term “school leader” can include principals, assistant principals, and other educators who supervise instruction and support operations at the school level. School leaders are the second most important in-school factor contributing to student success, right behind teachers (Louis, et al., 2010).

Given the importance of this role, the Tennessee State Board of Education is updating its policies on leader preparation and working with the Tennessee Department of Education to improve reporting and accountability for leader preparation programs in Tennessee. At the July 27 meeting of the State Board, members will vote on several items on final reading:

• A new Educator Preparation Rule that specifies reporting and monitoring requirements for programs that prepare teachers, leaders, and other educators such as counselors.
• A revised Educator Preparation Policy that goes into greater details about the structure of preparation programs.
• The Tennessee Instructional Leadership Standards (TILS). These standards had been included in a broader policy on leader preparation and are being moved to a standalone policy for easier reference. The TILS address both leader preparation and expectations for practicing school leaders. [Read more at tnscore.org]