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Advocacy in Action (8/4/20) - Take Action Today on COVID Relief, E-Rate, and Legislator Introductions

By Alison Maley posted 2 days ago
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View in a browser August 4, 2020 K—12 schools across the country desperately need Congress to act before its August recess and provide significant additional emergency COVID-19 relief funding before the start of the 2020-21 school year.   Now is the time for school leaders to contact their senators and representatives and urge them to support the emergency funding that schools desperately need. Time ...
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Advocacy in Action (7/23/20) - Tell Congress to Act Now to Support Schools

By Alison Maley posted 2 days ago
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View in a browser July 23, 2020 K—12 schools across the country desperately need Congress to act before its August recess and provide significant additional emergency COVID-19 relief funding before the start of the 2020-21 school year.   Time is running out! Please take a moment to contact your members of Congress to advocate for an investment in COVID-19 relief funding to schools. ...
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Advocacy in Action (7/17/20) - Contact Congress to Support Emergency Funding for Schools

By Alison Maley posted 2 days ago
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View in a browser July 17, 2020 NASSP Congressional Update Following the July 4 recess, Congress returns with a laundry list of bills and policies to complete prior to August—and a limited amount of time in which to do it. As of now, there have been no indications from either chamber that Congress is planning to eliminate August recess, so the time crunch to complete ...
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Academic Excellence and C.A.R.E.

By PrinciPal Connection posted 3 days ago
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We've asked the 2019-2020 IPA Region Award winners to give us a few sentences about their why, education leadership philosophy, or just something special they are working on. We hope these dispatches will lift you up, give you inspiration and remind you of your why.  The first of these notes comes from @Michael Allen . Dr. Allen is the principal at Oakton Elementary School. Academic Excellence and C.A.R.E. What is my why / philosophy about schools? I come from very humble beginnings where my siblings and I experienced many nights without electricity, water and food. To make matters worse, near the end of high school we were homeless. ...
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Take Action Today

By Alison Maley posted 20 days ago
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  Take the first step   The simplest way to influence education policy is to build a relationship with your local legislators. IPA has created a template email to introduce yourself to your state and federal legislators. The message includes an invitation for legislators to contact you as they make decisions on education policy, and an open invitation to visit your school. Send a message ...
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Advocacy in Action (7/13/20) - NASSP Congressional Update

By Alison Maley posted 20 days ago
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View in a browser July 13, 2020 NASSP Congressional Update Following the July 4 recess, Congress returns with a laundry list of bills and policies to complete prior to August—and a limited amount of time in which to do it. As of now, there have been no indications from either chamber that Congress is planning to eliminate August recess, so the time crunch to complete ...
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Advocacy in Action (7/3/20) - Contact Congress to Support Emergency Funding for Schools

By Alison Maley posted 20 days ago
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View in a browser July 3, 2020 Tell Congress to Support Education Stabilization Funding NAESP’s Advocacy Team has been working closely with other national education groups over the last few months to press Congress to provide at least $175 billion in education stabilization funds. These funds would support districts with reopening costs and help backfill state ...
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Student Handbook Procedure - School Operations During a Pandemic or Other Health Emergency

By PrinciPal Connection posted 07-06-2020
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The following is an excerpt from the latest Online Model Student Handbook update. The Online Model Student Handbook is a  cost effective service that provides easy access to user-friendly model student handbook procedures. All procedures are attorney drafted and fully aligned with PRESS, the Illinois Association of School Board’s school district policy service as well as state, federal and case law that change on a frequent basis. Read more about how to subscribe to the Online Model Student Handbook here . This handbook procedure is meant to apply generally to any pandemic or other health emergency and should be supplemented with other relevant and timely ...
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IPA Certified Great Place To Work

By PrinciPal Connection posted 07-01-2020
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Trust. It’s the main ingredient in building a great workplace for all. We are proud to announce that the Illinois Principals Association has been certified as a Great Place To Work ! IPA's recognition as a Great Place to Work is evidence of the trust that employees, Board members and school leaders place in the organization. This fostering and support of innovation is what attracts great talent to IPA.   Another a big reason for this recognition is the leadership of Dr. Jason Leahy (we ...
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Advocacy in Action (6/29/20) - Legislator Relationship Survey

By Alison Maley posted 06-29-2020
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View in a browser June 29, 2020 Legislator Relationship Survey Please complete the following survey about your relationship and engagement with local legislators. This information will help guide IPA advocacy efforts in the future.   As an educator, community leader, and constituent, your voice is essential to the direction of policymaking, ...
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Advocacy in Action (6/19/20) - Education Omnibus Bill Signed

By Alison Maley posted 06-29-2020
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View in a browser June 19, 2020 Governor Signs Education Legislation into Law On Thursday, Governor Pritzker signed SB 1569, education omnibus legislation, into law. Public Act 101-643 addresses many issues and flexibility needed as a result of COVID-19. The bill codifies many of the provisions from the Governor's Executive Orders to provide flexibility for ...
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Restore Illinois Guidance for Schools

By Brian Schwartz posted 06-24-2020
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Updated August 2, 2020 at 9:47 am Effective June 26, all regions in Illinois will move into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan. Phase 4 allows schools to provide in person instruction, but: (1) requires use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including face coverings; (2) prohibits more than 50 individuals from gathering in one space; (3) requires social distancing be observed, as much as possible; (4) requires that schools conduct symptom screenings and temperature checks or require that individuals self-certify that they are free of symptoms before entering school buildings; and, (5) requires an increase in schoolwide cleaning and disinfection. ...
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COVID Culture

By Jason Leahy posted 06-13-2020
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“Lead by building a positive, hope-filled climate and culture.”   The impact of COVID-19 on education during the 2019-2020 school year was vast.  When the country was asked to stay-at-home to slow the disease’s spread, every school in every state pivoted on a dime to convert to remote learning.  In addition to providing instruction from a distance, educators tended to the physical, mental, and social-emotional well-being of their students, families, and communities.  This monumental effort was a concrete reminder to the nation of how important our educators, more specifically, how important YOU are to our young people and society overall.   With ...
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Advocacy in Action (6/4/20) - Join the IPA Legislative Committee; Summer School Guidance

By Alison Maley posted 06-08-2020
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View in a browser June 4, 2020 Join the IPA Legislative Committee Illinois Principals Association's Legislative Committee is open to all IPA members and intended to provide guidance for IPA's advocacy efforts. The committee meets in-person once a year at the annual Education Leaders Conference but is active throughout the ...
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Advocacy in Action (5/24/20) - End of Session Update

By Alison Maley posted 06-08-2020
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View in a browser May 24, 2020 General Assembly Returns to Springfield Completes Legislative Session Photo credit: Capitol News Bureau The General Assembly returned to Springfield this week to address relief packages for COVID-19, the state budget, and other pressing ...
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Advocacy in Action (5/20/20) - Contact GA Members on Time Out and Restraint

By Alison Maley posted 06-08-2020
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View in a browser May 20, 2020 Action Alert - Contact GA Members on Time Out & Restraint As Illinois legislators come back to Springfield, some legislators would like to see time out and physical restraint included in an omnibus bill related to the budget and a COVID-19 relief package.   IPA is partnering with the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of ...
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Message from IPA Executive Director Dr. Jason Leahy

By Jason Leahy posted 06-04-2020
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As our country responds to the horrific murder of George Floyd, I want to reach out to everyone but specifically to my African American IPA teammates and to our African American IPA members.  I know that I cannot fully understand the impact this has had on you and your loved ones.  His killing is another tragedy in a generations long line of tragedies, injustices, and abuses of power and privilege.  For it, I am sorry, and I grieve with you. To this end, I spent time reflecting over the weekend on how I (and the IPA) can do better by you.  For my part, I personally commit to being more humble, more empathetic, and listening to more voices, especially from ...
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Anti-Racism Resources

By PrinciPal Connection posted 06-04-2020
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“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist” - Angela Davis . This blog is divided into 2 sections. The first is resources for school leaders  on how to be move beyond "not racist" to being activity anti-racist. The second section is tools for teachers on how to teach anti-racism in their classrooms.  Anti-Racism Resources For School Leaders Websites and Articles A Conversation on Racism between IPA Executive Director Dr. Jason Leahy and CES #95 Superintendent Daniel Booth Brene' Brown speaks with Ibram X. Kendi on How to be an Anti-Racist How to be anti-racist - a presentation ...
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Illinois students can access free healthy meals and snacks during the summer

By PrinciPal Connection posted 05-29-2020
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THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) will provide healthy meals and snacks to children and teens age 18 and younger at hundreds of sites across Illinois this summer. Families can find their nearest summer meals site by calling (800) 359-2163, texting “FoodIL" to 877-877, or visiting  summermealsillinois.org .    Hunger touches every community in Illinois. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means even more families now depend on federally funded nutrition programs. Illinois’ summer meals programs rely on community organizations, school districts, and other sponsors who are dedicated to ending ...
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COVID Fall Planning For School Leaders

By PrinciPal Connection posted 05-21-2020
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Part of what makes a good leader is being able to see where your organization needs to be in the future and taking steps today to guide it there. That is part of what has made the current situation so difficult to navigate — no one quite knows what the future will look like — but it’s not all bad news. We hope the following helps informing the difficult decisions that lay ahead. As additional information becomes available we will continue to update this post. Fall 2020 The Centers for Diseases Control has newly released interim guidance on what measures schools must take once they open their doors again. You can access a PDF of that plan here . School specific ...
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