“Addressing the instructional leadership challenge head on”

Sustainable school improvement that produces positive results in student learning simply will not happen unless we sharpen our focus on instructional leadership. Researchers Wiggins, Schmoker, Dufour, Elmore, Marzano and Reeves as well as “field grounded practitioners” all agree that now, more than ever, we need leadership that promotes research-based instructional strategies that actually work at the school and classroom level.

So, what is the problem? Most building principals are charged with the responsibility to supervise the instructional program that is delivered in their schools; but how does the busy and some times poorly equipped principal determine which specific instructional strategies teachers should actually use in their classrooms? How will the principal determine if the strategies selected in each curriculum area are being implemented with fidelity? Who can and will help the principal create a robust feedback system that gives teachers the information and support they need to implement the strategies they are learning effectively?

LAPDA has stepped forward to help fill this void with respect to the creation of this vitally important feedback loop. Last year, staff at LAPDA developed and launched the first iteration of the Principal’s Toolkit Workshop Series as part of a broader leadership development initiative. This year we refined the Toolkit workshop series again and we offered fewer strands (math, writing and science) but we took each strand to greater depth. We also invited principals who enrolled in the series to bring their teacher leaders and curriculum directors with them to the training.

We recruited and supported three workshop strand leaders who are highly respected professionals with expertise in both content and pedagogy. Each presenter was selected because they understand and respect the unique instructional leadership role the principal must play within their school. Each workshop session included a facilitated dialogue session with the presenter and the “Cohort Group” to extend the ideas discussed in the workshop and to discuss implementation strategies. Each workshop strand was created for teams of Instructional leaders comprised of the principal, teacher leaders, mentors or teacher peer coaches.

The math and writing “Toolkit Strands” begin in late October and the math strand was completed in December. The science strand began in January 2009 and it will conclude this spring just after the writing strand is completed. All Toolkit workshop strands were open to Elementary or Middle School Principals and their instructional leadership teams. Principals were strongly encouraged to bring a team of two or three lead teachers with them and most were able to do so. Participants were required to attend all three workshops for the strand they selected. Each workshop session ran from 8:30 to 3:30PM in the LAPDA Meeting Space in Montpelier. The evaluation results from all three strands have been very positive, and we are convinced that we have identified a very powerful and effective school improvement venue.  Impact data will be collected at all participating sites and we will us that information to refine the series again before offering it for a third time in 2009-10.
We hope your school will send a team next year.