Why Apply to ISAL?

IASA's School for Advanced Leadership (ISAL) is unlike any professional development experience available to superintendents in Illinois because it integrates personal and professional growth plans with the cultivation of lifelong relationships. 

Twenty-five superintendents are accepted into each cohort, beginning a journey that past participants have called "life changing."

Each participant is paired with a leadership coach, who is a current or retired superintendent who graduated from ISAL. The leadership coach serves as a trusted mentor that you can contact anytime with questions about professional or personal matters. 

Over the course of eight sessions, participants disengage from their districts and gather in Springfield for enriching learning sessions and training that is focused on the superintendent's role in the support of student achievement and work/life balance. The sessions also include nightly dinners that foster new friendships and relationships. 

Applications are now being accepted for ISAL VIII, the eighth cohort. The 18-month program launches in January 2025 and runs over the course of eight sessions through May 2026. The deadline to apply is Oct. 18.

2025

• Jan. 29-31 (evening welcome/orientation reception on Jan. 29)
• April 3-4
• June 12-13
• Sept 11-12
• Nov 6-7

2026

• Jan. 22-23
• March 12-13
• May 14

The eighth cohort will feature two new facilitators: 

Sandye Brown                                      Curt Nettles