CHICAGOLAND LUTHERAN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

As a result of CLEF's strategic planning process, the following strategic priorities have been identified:
1. Foster leadership and professional development in schools. CLEF schools are staffed and led by professionals modeling best practices for administration, curriculum and student experience.
2. Improve the quality of Lutheran Education in Chicago. Lutheran schools achieve a competitive standard of educational and operational excellence in the following areas: academics, Christian values and school culture, school leadership, teacher quality, administration and operations, technology, facilities and maintenance, community and parent engagement, adherence to best practices in curriculum development and instruction, and state recognition and accreditation.
3. Operate as a sustainable and responsible steward. CLEF is a sustainable, high-impact and efficacious agency, appropriately staffed, governed, and managed to provide the best services and support to its constituents through the responsible stewardship of donor funds and trust.
4. Improve the visibility and reputation of Lutheran Education in Chicago. Lutheran education is seen as synonymous with high-quality, safe, Christ-centered education that develops the whole child.
5. Build and leverage partnerships. CLEF has robust partnerships with academic institutions, other nonprofit/ community organizations, foundations, congregations, businesses, and elected officials.

To work towards achievement of our first two strategic, initiatves, CLEF, in collaboration with Davidoff Mission-Driven Business Strategy and Concordia University Chicago, has created the Pathways to Excellence (PTE) Leadership Development Program. PTE was created as an expression of CLEF's strategic initiative to improve the quality of Lutheran education in Chicagoland. The program is based on the assumption that high-performing, well-supported, and well-trained school leaders are critical to improving academic excellence and overall school quality. Lutheran schools today face complex challenges and exciting opportunities, requiring principals, school leaders and teachers to expand their skill sets and think more strategically. For Lutheran schools to be successful, school leaders and principals must be equipped to meet the demands of these changing times. The Pathways to Excellence Leadership Development program is a three-year, two-part initiative designed to empower Lutheran school principals, school leaders and teachers with the skills, resources, and support they need to effectively lead their schools to meet and exceed high academic and experiential standards.

The PTE program integrates classroom curriculum, pragmatic application of content, peer learning and networking, individual coaching, and access to subject matter experts to meet the unique needs of each participating school.

Our initial focus was on our first two strategic initiatives. CLEF, in collaboration with Davidoff Mission Driven Business Strategy and Concordia University Chicago, has developed the Pathways to Excellence Leadership Program. Partnering with these two institutions has allowed us to access subject matter experts, and the expertise of a higher education institution and its faculty as needed.

In 2019 CLEF created the position of Director of Academic Excellence and hired a team of Instructional Coaches to provide weekly on-site teacher coaching and professional development. This model allows us to provide system-wide collaborative learning opportunities while also responding in timely and meaningful ways to the varied needs
of individual schools.

Launched in 2020, The Medallion Schools of Distinction Program is designed to provide schools with a clear
model of what an outstanding Lutheran school looks like. The Program divides components critical to school
success into four main categories: School Culture, Student Learning and Academic Excellence, Leadership
and Sustainability, and School Environment and Wellbeing. Each category includes specific criteria schools
can use to assess their overall performance and level of excellence in that category. The categories, criteria,
and levels are arranged in a rubric, which allows schools to identify their positions along a continuum of
excellence and identify next steps towards advancing along that continuum. Schools work towards reaching
thriving and distinguished levels to earn badges in each category. A school that acquires all eight badges
(two in each category) is then eligible to apply for Medallion status. Badges include:
Christian Principles & Spiritual Formation
Engagement of Community
Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
Innovation
Financial Sustainability & Enrollment
Governance
Facilities & Infrastructure
Health and Wellness