Operations and Funding

The HIL Project for School Renewal launched in 2017 with the help of a three-year $12.5 million Supporting Effective Educator Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education, awarded to Western Michigan University (WMU), in collaboration with the Reading Now Network (RNN) and the MAISA General Education Leadership Network (GELN). We were proud to be one of only four projects in the U.S. to receive two-year renewal funding (with perfect scores from blind reviewers)!  The project is led by Dr. Patricia Reeves, associate professor, and Dr. Jianping Shen, the John E. Sandberg Professor of Education and the Gwen Frostic Endowed Chair, in WMU's Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology. The project focuses on two major outcomes—developing a strong pool of practicing school leaders and improving student achievement.

We welcome contributions from generous community donors such as the Guido A. and Elizabeth H. Binda Foundation and Scholastic, Inc.. Over the years, they have made it possible to equip school and classroom libraries, offer special school-wide events, and provide substitute teachers and subsidies for professional learning. Contact Dr. Patricia Reeves if you are interested in contributing to this exciting work.

Visit our website or contact us to discover how you might participate in this exciting project.

"I was worried that the HIL Project was going to put more on my plate or on the teachers' plates, but it was actually the opposite. Our facilitator worked hand and hand with the teachers and provided support in the areas we worked on. These areas were areas we already felt we needed to improve on, but the project provided focus and support in moving forward."HIL Project Principal