Indiana State University Newsroom

Fifty-six principals in the Indiana Principal Leadership Institute's first cohort participated in a graduation ceremony on April 20 at the Lawrence Township Education & Community Center in Indianapolis.

Housed at Indiana State University's Bayh College of Education, IPLI is a two-year experience that addresses the professional needs of Indiana public school principals with an emphasis on student success. It was created with bipartisan support by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013.

The IPLI experience lasts two years for each cohort. The principals develop and implement personal and school improvement plans, facilitate action research projects at their school, and build a network with other principals to gain support during and beyond the institute experience. Eleven trained mentors provided support to the principals in the first cohort.

During the graduation, the principals heard keynote remarks from former Indiana Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis, who, in addition to being the state's first female to serve in that role, is a public school parent and a member of the Lumina Foundation board of directors.

The cohort's accomplishments include boosting the individual grades of their school, implementing data-driven processes to enhance student performance, improving classroom instruction, and strengthening school culture. More than 72,000 students in 58 counties have been touched by their work. Additionally, 20 of the first cohort's 56 principals saw their school grades increase under the A-F model.

"The Indiana Principal Leadership Institute is making a difference for our children, our schools and our communities," said Linda Marrs-Morford, executive director of IPLI. "The initial results from our principals and their work are promising. We are continuing to help our principals put their schools on a path to better performance, where importantly, the whole child can learn and grow."

In July, IPLI will welcome the second and third cohorts to Indiana State University for its summer seminar.

To learn more about IPLI, please visit www.indianapli.org.