CUEL Professor Emeritus Steve Tozer Presents on Equity-Centered Principal Pipeline Project (EPPP)

On October 23, 2023, at the invitation of the Delaware State Department of Education in Dover, Delaware, Tozer presented, “Professional Learning at Multiple Levels: The Power of Partnerships” to the state’s district superintendents and their leadership teams as well as to their higher education partners. The presentation provided support to the Wallace Foundation’s Equity-Centered Principal Pipeline Project (EPPP). The University of Illinois Chicago was selected as one of nine universities nationwide to serve as a partner provider to school districts across the country. UIC was selected because we have committed to continuous improvement of our principal preparation program to be responsive to the on-the-job realities of the principal’s job and the needs of our partner district. Tozer’s presentation was a comprehensive review of recent research demonstrating that Improving school leader practice is a cost-effective, high-leverage strategy to improve equity of student learning. The remarks relied in part on a compelling new study by Gooden, Khalifa, et al. (2023) A Culturally Responsive School Leadership Approach to Developing Equity-Centered Principals: Considerations for Principal Pipelines. Improving school leader practice effectively and at scale requires a concerted, intentional partnership as neither states, districts nor Institutions of Higher Education have demonstrated that they can do it alone. Educational policy needs to support the practices that research has indicated will have impact. Tozer concludes that, “Aligning research, policy, and practice is a leadership challenge—and a professional learning challenge” to educational leaders at all levels, including state, district, and higher education. Access the new study by Gooden, Khalifa, et al. (2023) here.