Section 33.60  Candidate Selection

Candidates admitted to a program for superintendent preparation shall be selected through an interview process. Each candidate must meet the following minimum requirements:

a)         Hold a valid and current Illinois professional educator license endorsed in general administrative, principal, chief school business official, or director of special education.

b)         Have experience in a public school district or nonpublic school recognized in accordance with 23 Ill. Adm. Code 425 on one of the following endorsements to the professional educator license or, for out-of-state candidates, the requisite experience while holding a certificate or license that is comparable to the respective Illinois credential:

1)         General Administrative;

2)         Principal;

3)         Director of Special Education; or

4)         Chief School Business Official.

c)         Submission of a portfolio that presents evidence of a candidate's achievements during the candidate's administrative experience in each of the following categories:

1)         Support of all students in the classroom to achieve high standards of learning;

2)         Significant leadership roles in the school (e.g., curriculum, assessment or instructional development, school management or budgeting, evaluation of staff, mentoring);

3)         Strong oral and written communication skills;

4)         Analytic abilities needed to collect and analyze data for school and district improvement;

5)         Demonstrated respect for family and community;

6)         Strong interpersonal skills; and

7)         Strong demonstrated leadership skills and abilities.

d)         For purposes of subsection (c), "evidence" includes, but is not limited to:

1)         Evaluations of the candidate's administrative abilities from supervisors that attest to school and district improvement;

2)         Evidence of leadership roles held and descriptions of the impact the candidate has had on the classroom, school or district, or the constituents served;

3)         An analysis of school or district data (e.g., student scores) that describes how the data were used to inform instructional planning and implementation, including an explanation of what standards were addressed, the academic achievement or school improvement outcomes, and steps taken when expected outcomes did not occur;

4)         Information about the candidate's work with families or community groups and a description of how this work affected school or district operations, policies, and procedures;

5)         Examples of the candidate's analytical abilities as evidenced by a description of how the candidate used the results from student assessments to improve student learning; and

6)         Evidence of curriculum development, student assessments, or other initiatives that resulted from the candidate's involvement with school committees.

e)         Each applicant shall interview with no fewer than two of the program's full-time faculty members and shall, at a minimum, discuss the contents of the applicant's portfolio and complete a written response to a scenario presented by the interviewers.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 13152, effective July 13, 2022)