Educational Leadership Solutions

Educational Leadership Solutions is a company that focuses on using data to make decisions. Whether a school district is looking to employ a new leader, developing a strategic plan, analyzing data for student achievement and finance purposes, offering mentoring of new school administrators or coaching teacher evaluators, Educational Leadership Solutions can assist in making data-driven decisions that are in the best interest of your students, employees, parent, and community.

When completing a search for a new administrator, Educational Leadership Solutions uses data as the core for analyzing which candidate fits best with what the district wants in a new leader. The school board, district employees and school district public are surveyed to determine what qualities are important for their new leaders. Educational Leadership Solutions then uses an exclusive data-driven process to determine the candidates that best fit the criteria supplied by the persons participating in the surveys.

The process starts with the facilitation of conversations and the collection of data that can be used to determine the selection criteria for screening applicants. It then proceeds to the data-driven initial review of the materials submitted by the applicants. The process finishes with the compilation of individual ratings based on responses to questions that have been aligned to previously identified criteria. The data collected from each person participating on an interview team is compiled into an easily understood image. The person/people responsible for making the final employment recommendation will also receive a subjective feedback document for each candidate from all interview team participants. In addition, this process can also include a comprehensive, customized salary and benefit analysis for making a contract offer that is fair and responsive to the District’s desires.

Educational Leadership Solutions uses an exclusive process to vet the various candidates who apply for the leadership position. This analysis results in a proposal shared with the school board and together the school board and the Educational Leadership associate discuss the findings and arrive at the best candidates to be interviewed for the position.

Educational Leadership Solutions believes Strategic Planning is most effective when a representative group of stakeholders are committed to being a part of the process. Our firm will work with district leaders to determine/develop this group who will then review the district’s current Mission, Vision, Values and Goals. Based on the review, our consultants will work with the stakeholders to update or develop the district’s Mission, Vision and Values, identify the district’s current reality in key areas such as Academics/Achievement, Finances, Facilities, Technology, etc., using data that currently exists or developing measures to assist in assessing the district’s current reality in key areas. Once the current reality has been determined, a SWOT process is utilized to begin to develop goals, ultimately resulting in a new strategic plan for the district that can be utilized for the next three years.

An additional service Educational Leadership Solutions offers to clients is strategic planning. The strategic planning process also uses an exclusive data analysis to help the school district develop a strategic plan. Educational Leadership Solutions believes Strategic Planning is most effective when a representative group of stakeholders are committed to being a part of the process. Our firm will work with district leaders to determine/develop this group who will then review the district’s current Mission, Vision, Values and Goals. Based on the review, our consultants will work with the stakeholders to update or develop the district’s Mission, Vision and Values, identify the district’s current reality in key areas such as Academics/Achievement, Finances, Facilities, Technology, etc., using data that currently exists or developing measures to assist in assessing the district’s current reality in key areas. Once the current reality has been determined, a SWOT process is utilized to begin to develop goals, ultimately resulting in a new strategic plan for the district that can be utilized for the next three years.

Educational Leadership Solutions additionally offers data analysis for student academic achievement, school finances, and peer comparison purposes. While the data analysis can be customized, typical support includes analysis of historical student achievement results, student growth analyses on local assessments, and comparative analysis on state achievement tests such as the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). In addition, Educational Leadership Solutions can assist with comprehensive analyses of district and school level data to determine how your district compares to regional, county, and similar peer groups on data from the Illinois Report Card or the district’s preferred data set, assuming the data set is readily available.

Educational Leadership Solutions supports superintendents and district level administrators in the development of data systems that are aligned to the district’s strategic plan. This is a logical next step after completing a new strategic plan or whenever the district is seeking to implement strategic data-driven decision making. This EdLS service focuses on the use of systems and research-based best practices that lead to aligned, purposeful leadership in response to student achievement and strategic plan goals, while remaining sensitive to the capacity and holistic needs of students and employees. This service can include the administration of a survey to help the district determine its data climate with a goal of moving the district forward on the continuum of data adverse to data driven.

Educational Leadership Solutions also provides comprehensive salary comparisons by position so that the district can determine regional salary offers that are competitive while being sensitive to local parameters. These services can also include providing assistance on the selection of regional and state-wide peers that is customized to match the district’s desired comparisons

Educational Leadership Solutions will also mentor new school superintendents and other school administrators after the school board selects the superintendent or administrator. We have successful school superintendents who have extensive experience mentoring, coaching, and providing professional development for all levels of school administrators.