Illinois State Receives Grant to Prepare School Principals

Illinois State University’s Leadership to Integrate the Learning Continuum (LINC) program is the recipient of a $330,000 grant to prepare principals to align early childhood education with elementary and secondary education.

The goal of this McCormick Foundation grant is to address principals’ lack of early education knowledge. According to a study commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, principals alone account for 25 percent of a school’s total impact on learning. In the spring of 2010, legislation was passed that changed the principal certification from a K-12 certificate to a Pre-K-12 certificate, making Illinois the first in the nation to certify principals from the span of Pre-K to grade 12. As part of the new requirement, by 2014 all principal preparation programs will be required to incorporate new content and field experiences that integrate early childhood education and other content areas such as special education and English language learners. Illinois State’s LINC program will provide technical assistance to other key higher education institutions to ensure quality as their programs are redesigned to conform to the new legislation.

The LINC program is part of the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State. It is focused on supporting leaders in early childhood and K-12 education so that they can develop and nurture a seamless learning continuum centered on children's learning and development.

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation is committed to fostering communities of educated, informed and engaged citizens. Through philanthropic programs, Cantigny Park and museums, the Foundation helps develop citizen leaders and works to make life better in our communities. The Foundation was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.