{"id":3779,"date":"2026-02-09T10:43:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/?p=3779"},"modified":"2026-02-09T10:44:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:44:40","slug":"center-for-urban-education-leadership-university-of-illinois-at-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/center-for-urban-education-leadership-university-of-illinois-at-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Center for Urban Education Leadership, University of Illinois at Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Improving Through Leadership: A Program in Urban Education<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quality of school leadership, along with that of teachers, matters for student outcomes, especially for students in under-resourced schools. The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center for Urban Education Leadership (CUEL) sits at the center of a long-standing effort to improve principal quality in the Chicago Public Schools through a process of continuous improvement. CUEL\u2019s work demonstrates how commitment to disciplined learning can yield extraordinary results in helping school leaders to improve schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CUEL provides support for continuous improvement to the EdD Program in Urban Education Leadership at UIC, which produces principals and other leaders for urban schools. Since the partnership began in 2002, CUEL has trained 15 cohorts of students, with 94% of program completers entering administration, primarily as principals, and 78% of completers remaining in school leadership or policy positions. These numbers are in contrast to most leadership programs, in which the principal placement averages approximately 15%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without strong leadership, schools have difficulty ensuring that each and every student experiences quality teaching and learning every day. The EdD program focuses on advancing equity by preparing principals to be improvement leaders and to conduct focused inquiry in the nation\u2019s most challenging and under-resourced schools. With 110 leaders trained by UIC, the program has dramatically expanded Chicago\u2019s overall capacity for school improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WITHOUT STRONG LEADERSHIP, SCHOOLS HAVE DIFFICULTY ENSURING THAT EACH AND EVERY STUDENT EXPERIENCES QUALITY TEACHING AND LEARNING EVERY DAY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UIC faculty and CUEL staff sought ways to improve every aspect of the program, from the recruitment and selection of candidates, to integrating academic content and school-based leadership coaching, to the culminating research project that candidates complete. By looking at what highly effective principals do, UIC and CUEL learned what it would take to advance those practices at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing that candidate selection matters, the network studied the markers of highly effective principals so that it may better select for those qualities during the admission process and only advance those who provide sufficient evidence of those markers. In addition, CUEL candidates complete a full-year residency under the mentorship of a principal, as well as three years of coursework to support disciplined inquiry, culminating in a capstone project that demonstrates their impact on school outcomes. In addition, they receive three years of structured leadership coaching\u2014one year prior to licensure and at least two years after\u2014by former Chicago Public Schools principals who dramatically improved achievement in their schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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