Passionate Projects...

One of the missions of IWA is to initiate passionate projects that will develop leadership in Illinois schools as inclusive learning communities that value, respect, and promote diversity. Recent passionate projects of IWA include the biennial Leadership for Diversity Conference, the research and writing of the book Leaders Who Dare, IWA's sponsorship to the American Association of School Administrators' Women in School Leadership Forum, and IWA's Teacher Leadership Scholarship.

The following are brief descriptions of IWA's recent Passionate Projects:

Leaders Who Dare

About the Book

Leaders Who Dare: Pushing the Boundaries is the result of an extensive collaborative research project on women's leadership practices led by Linda L. Lyman, Diane E. Ashby, and Jenny S. Tripses in collaboration with 18 members of IWA between the years of 2000 and 2005.

The book is a thoughtful exploration of educators who dare to lead their schools, districts, universities, and educational organizations to new possibilities. The book reports and interprets the results of this collective qualitative inquiry into the leadership of eighteen impressive women educational leaders from Illinois, representing a diversity of roles, community sizes, institutional types, and racial perspectives. The chapters intertwine personal stories with the scholarship about leadership.

Although several recent books have been published about the experiences of women as leaders, leadership studies have generally not included women or failed to point to women leaders as role models who could, even should, be emulated by leaders of both genders. This book contributes to the ongoing redefinition of leadership and perhaps after reading this book, leaders who dare will move themselves and our culture closer to gender inclusive perceptions of what leadership is and who leaders are.

Authors

Linda L. Lyman is a professor in the department of Educational Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University, where she teaches in the master's and doctoral programs. Her scholarship focuses on leadership in schools, with emphasis on issues of gender, caring, and poverty.

Dianne E. Ashby is professor and 10^th Dean of the College of Education at Illinois State University. Her scholarship focuses on school reform with an emphasis on leadership.

Jenny S. Tripses is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Human Development at Bradley University where she teaches in the master's program. Her scholarship focuses on leadership, with an emphasis on issues of gender, social justice, and poverty.

IWA Interviewers

AASA Women's Conference Sponsorship

Each year, IWA sponsors two members to attend the annual American Association of School Administrators' Women in School Leadership Forum. These two $500 sponsorships are given to two IWA members who are employees of an Illinois public school or institution of higher learning and/or hold a current leadership position in education. In order to be considered for the sponsorship, applicants must submit a 1-page, single spaced essay describing the reasons they want to attend the AASA Women's Conference, what they anticipate learning from the conference, and how they would be willing to share what they learned with fellow IWA members. In addition to being featured in the Spring IWA Newsline, the two sponsorship recipients are introduced at IWA's annual Dare to be Great conference, held the third weekend in April at Ewing Manor in Bloomington, IL.

Teacher Leadership Scholarship

In support of teacher leadership throughout Illinois, IWA awarded its first Teacher Leadership Scholarships in August 2007. These two $565 scholarships were given to two Illinois teachers pursuing National Board certification during the 2007-2008 school year. To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must be employed as a teacher in an Illinois school and registered as a National Board candidate during the school year for which they have applied for scholarship. They also must be members of IWA or willing to join IWA during their year of National Board candidacy. In addition to being featured in the Fall IWA Newsline, the two scholarship recipients will be introduced at IWA's 2008 Dare to be Great conference, held the third weekend in April at Ewing Manor in Bloomington, IL.