IASA Annual Report FY 2013

Executive Director’s Note

The theme of our conference in October of 2012 was “Quality Counts,” and I believe that quality counts even more during difficult times like those that public education is now facing.

This comes as no newsflash for those of you on the front lines of public education, but resources are dwindling while expectations and demands are higher than ever with the likes of Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind at the federal level and the Senate Bill 7 education reform package here in our state. It’s a case of having to do more and more with less and less. Against that challenging backdrop, the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) remains committed to our vision of “Maximum Educational Success for All Students.” The Association remains strong in number and focused on our mission to actively represent and provide services to IASA members in their quest to provide the best possible education for the children of Illinois. I respectfully submit this Annual Report to the IASA membership with my recommendation for approval. The IASA encounters a wide range of issues, opportunities and challenges, and this past year has been no different given issues like reduced state funding and pension reform. This Annual Report is a brief summary of the IASA’s joint efforts to protect and enhance public education in our state.

The educational achievements in Illinois this past year are really quite remarkable, including:

• The graduating Class of 2012 scored the highest among the nine states that tested all of their 2012 graduates in terms of meeting all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. • The percentage of Illinois students meeting all four of the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks increased from 23 percent to 25 percent.

• There were 703 schools that made the Illinois Honor Roll as high-achieving schools.

Illinois schools are of high quality, but it is a smart investment to constantly examine methods of improvement in the areas of leadership, relationships, decision-making and vision. During the past year, the IASA Board of Directors and administrative staff have teamed up to provide education, training and guidance in the implementation of the most sweeping education reform package in the state’s history. It remains a work in progress, as do the efforts to get our message to the public and to legislators.

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