Institute for Educational Leadership
The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), a division of the College of Education, promotes the improvement of elementary, secondary and postsecondary education throughout the State of Iowa. It works with educators throughout the state to focus on and clarify issues important to education in Iowa and to address issues of significance to Iowa's school districts. To fulfill this mission, the IEL serves as a catalyst for:
- informed dialogue on educational issues impacting the schools of Iowa, region and nation;
- developing collaborative relationships with individuals and/or organizations external to schools; and
- education policy development.
The IEL at UNI is unique because of its focus on capturing the thinking of Iowa's best school and non-school settings. The IEL strives to bring this knowledge base of practice into relationships with the knowledge base of UNI, resulting in stimulating interplay which addresses complex leadership and educational issues.
Leading and Learning with Character
Leading and Learning with Character, the umbrella for the IEL's multiple programs, served about 60 percent of Iowa's leaders through workshops, including 37 Leadership Camps, 14 Think Tanks, 20 School Board Dialogues and 14 Mentoring Trainings, totaling over 1,070 leaders served, supported by an initial grant from the Kern Family Foundation. With a second KFF grant, leadership camps have expanded to non--public school leaders and include a camp focused on special education and teacher workshops.
The IEL Team
The Institute for Educational Leadership team is led by Mary Sult and Amanda Schmidt. Additional workshop facilitators/instructors include:
- Denise Schares
- Kenneth Hayes
- Kim Huckstadt
- Susan Etscheidt
Mary Sult, PhD
Director, Institute of Educational Leadership
Assistant Professor of Practice, Superintendency
mary.sult@uni.edu
(319) 273-2540
Amanda Schmidt
Program Coordinator, Institute of Educational Leadership
amanda.schmidt@uni.edu
319-273-2613
IEL Workshops
Leadership Camps 1.2 & 1.3
Three leadership camps are two-day workshops to learn with colleagues, share challenges and success of the Iowa evaluation system. Cost for each is $75 for one graduate credit (reduced from $539) with all materials and lunches included. Each is approved for Evaluator Renewal Credit.
- Leadership Camp 1.2, for public school administrators. Also available in a hybrid format including two evening workshops (3 hours each) one month apart and the rest offered through asynchronous work online in between.
- Leadership Camp 1.2, for leaders of non-public schools.
- Leadership Camps 1.3, for the evaluation of special education and personnel. Includes newly updated ISSL standards).
Teaching & Leading with Character: Practical Wisdom Illuminated
This two-day opportunity allows you to learn with colleagues by focusing on conversations around the Iowa Teaching Standards and the application of Practical Wisdom. The cost of the workshop is $75 for one graduate credit (reduced from $539) with all materials and 2 meals included. We are also offering this course in a hybrid format including two evening workshops (3 hours each) one month apart and the rest of the course offered through asynchronous work online in between.
Sharing challenges & dialogue
School and district leaders are invited to join us for facilitated conversation around challenges facing Iowa school leaders and strategies for addressing the challenges. Each participant will have the opportunity to share a challenge and dialogue with others regarding possible actions to address the challenge. A tuning protocol format will be used to facilitate the conversation. There is no cost to attend and lunch is provided.
The schedule for these events are coordinated by Mary Sult, IEL program director. Contact her at mary.sult@uni.edu for information.
Leadership Camps 1.2 & 1.3
Three leadership camps are two-day workshops to learn with colleagues, share challenges and success of the Iowa evaluation system. Cost for each is $75 for one graduate credit (reduced from $539) with all materials and lunches included. Each is approved for Evaluator Renewal Credit.
- Leadership Camp 1.2, for public school administrators. Also available in a hybrid format including two evening workshops (3 hours each) one month apart and the rest offered through asynchronous work online in between.
- Leadership Camp 1.2, for leaders of non-public schools.
- Leadership Camps 1.3, for the evaluation of special education and personnel. Includes newly updated ISSL standards).
Teaching & Leading with Character: Practical Wisdom Illuminated
This two-day opportunity allows you to learn with colleagues by focusing on conversations around the Iowa Teaching Standards and the application of Practical Wisdom. The cost of the workshop is $75 for one graduate credit (reduced from $539) with all materials and 2 meals included. We are also offering this course in a hybrid format including two evening workshops (3 hours each) one month apart and the rest of the course offered through asynchronous work online in between.
Sharing challenges & dialogue
School and district leaders are invited to join us for facilitated conversation around challenges facing Iowa school leaders and strategies for addressing the challenges. Each participant will have the opportunity to share a challenge and dialogue with others regarding possible actions to address the challenge. A tuning protocol format will be used to facilitate the conversation. There is no cost to attend and lunch is provided.
The schedule for these events are coordinated by Mary Sult, IEL program director. Contact her at mary.sult@uni.edu for information.
Leadership Camp Resources
A history of support and growth
In 2019, Denise Schares, PhD, was awarded a Kern Family Foundation Grant for her work in educational leadership at the University of Northern Iowa. The grant entitled "Leading and Learning with Character," gave us the ability to offer Leadership Camps across the state of Iowa to provide quality practical workshops for our educational leaders to renew their evaluator license through the lens of character and ethics. In summer 2021, the course transitioned to Leadership Camp 1.2 to include the newly adopted ISSL standards. In addition to the Leadership Camp workshops, the grant also provided funding for School Board Dialogues and Think Tanks.
In 2021, the IEL was awarded a second Kern Family Foundation grant to expand the work to include a focus on Leadership Camps for non-public schools as well as Leadership Workshops for teachers. Additionally, there is now a Leadership Camp 1.3 workshop that also provides evaluator license renewal, but focuses on the evaluation of special education programming and staffing.
The grant will also be providing mini-grants for character programming implementation and follow-up coaching opportunities. To learn more about grant opportunities or workshops contact Mary.Sult@uni.edu.