Dear Leadership Colleagues in Education,
Welcome to the Ontario Institute for Education Leadership (IEL) website. Here you will find research, resources, and tools for building and strengthening successful leadership practices for current and aspiring educational leaders.
Mission
The Ontario Institute for Education Leadership's mission is to:
• influence education leadership policy/practices in Ontario
• support the development of education leaders in Ontario
• contribute to research on education leadership in Ontario and globally
Key Focus Areas
The IEL's overarching goal is to assist school and system leaders in maximizing the achievement and well-being of all children and students. The IEL accomplishes this by focusing on three key areas:
1. Equity: leading through a stance of anti-oppression
2. Well-being: leading healthy schools and systems
3. Learning: leading to support learning for all
As an integral part of the IEL’s commitment to become a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, and equitable virtual organization, the IEL has expanded the membership to include additional members from each professional leadership association who represent the diversity in our province. This expansion of membership will help ensure a broader range of voices, lived experiences and representation of those who live, learn and work in Ontario.
Leadership Initiatives
A. The IEL has developed “Strengthening the Personal Leadership Resources” modules for school and system leaders. These modules are open-ended professional learning resources that are enriched by what participants bring to the learning experience.
B. The IEL offers Fireside Chats throughout the year. Topics are based on the current learning needs and interests of school and system leaders.
C. Strengthening Leader Collaboration and Communication Resources is a series that has been developed by practicing school and system leaders. The first theme of this series focuses on Necessary Conversations About Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): Moving from Awareness to Action and includes presentation materials, articles, micro-podcasts and scenarios.
D. The IEL continues to offer professional learning sessions tailored to the learning needs and interests of newly appointed school and system leaders.
ONGOING WORK OF THE IEL:
The IEL continues to collaborate with the Ministry of Education on the revisions to the Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF). While these OLF discussions continue, the IEL has put in place an Ad Hoc Committee which will identify the types of equity-focused leadership resources needed by school and system leaders.
The Leadership Resource Bank (LRB) has replaced the APPLIKI section of the IEL website and will highlight the rich leadership resources that individual districts develop locally and make them accessible to other districts. The IEL encourages all districts to submit resources that reflect a diverse range of perspectives which includes race, colour, place of origin, ethnic origin, disability, sex or gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression.
Within its mandate, the IEL continues to work diligently to support all leaders by offering learning opportunities and resources readily available to them. Take time to browse the website to learn more about the IEL and discover a wide range of evidence-based professional learning materials developed for current and aspiring school and system leaders in both English and French.