Jane Gard

After teaching junior and senior high school French and German, Jane served as department chair of several subject areas in different high schools, where she focused on developmental teacher supervision, professional development and school evaluation. As assistant principal and later principal for 10 years of a suburban high school, her role was to supervise department chairs, direct a host of school functions, and guide professional development. During her 34 years in public schools Jane served on numerous NCA evaluation teams for high schools and universities and for university schools of education. She presented frequently at professional conventions on school leadership, staff development and content-area pedagogy.

Jane then worked for five years for National-Louis University as a project director for the Illinois Teacher Education Partnership (ITEP), a $6.3M federal grant to enhance teacher quality, where she developed university-community college-school district partnerships in central and northern Illinois . It was through ITEP that she began to work with CEC, a major partner in the ITEP project. At the project's completion, Jane joined CEC as a staff consultant. She directs the CLASS program, which prepares committed and qualified retired principals to coach new principals in order to help them improve their practice and grow as professional leaders in their schools. The CLASS project, originated at the University of California at Santa Cruz , is in its second year with CEC and will be coaching 52 new principals in the greater Chicagoland area and 12 new principals in central Illinois through a trained cadre of 28 leadership coaches. She will also be directing CLASSnet, the coaches network for ongoing training, and the New Administrator Institute (NAI) for continuous preparation and networking among new administrators participating in the program.