Effective School Leaders and Student Achievement

EPLC Conference Presentation March 13, 2006

K-12 School Leadership Project

 Purpose – recommendations to enhance leadership quality especially for  Principals  Superintendents  Sponsored by EPLC, PASA, PAESSP  Working since early 2005  Report this spring

Leadership Study Group

 20-member study group  School and district leaders  Leadership educators  Policymakers  Associations  PDE  Foundations and advocates

Process

 Research  Two study group meetings  Focus groups  Superintendents  Principals  Today’s session  Draft report for release this spring

Issues Being Considered

 Supply and demand  Evolution of leadership positions  Knowledge and skills needed for success  Leadership preparation programs  Continuing education and support

Anticipated Outcomes

 Report and recommendations  To state policymakers  To school districts  To leadership preparation institutions  Information about the issue in multiple venues  Advocacy for recommendations

Supply and Demand

 Plenty of certificates  Not enough interested candidates  Less experienced than in the past  Quality?

Evolution of Leadership

 Less about control  More about collaboration  Less about management (as long as management issues are under control)  More about student achievement

Evolution of Leadership

 Superintendent  Vision  Policy  Politics  Legal issues  Personnel  Principal  Instruction  Curriculum  Personnel  Legal issues

Superintendents – Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes  Creating vision focused on students  Strategic planning  Standards-based systems  Distributive leadership, empowerment  School improvement strategies  Learning theory  Instructional strategies

Superintendents – Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes  Diversity  Managing resources for results  Collaborating  Communicating  Consensus building  Fairness, integrity  Informed decision-making

Superintendents – Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes  School board relations  Media relations  Community relations  Advocacy for children  Professional growth (self and others)

Principals – Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes  Teacher development  Letting teachers do their jobs  Providing intellectual stimulation  Providing models of effective practice  Setting direction  Developing shared goals  Monitoring performance  Promoting effective communications

Principals – Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes  Organizational development  Creating productive school culture  Modifying structures that undermine work (including discipline issues)  Building collaborative processes  Design of curriculum, instruction, assessment  Providing necessary resources

Principals – Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes  Communications with teachers, students, parents  Outreach and advocacy  Flexibility  Analysis and decision-making  Knowledge of law, policy, etc.

 Fairness, integrity  Emotional maturity, self-knowledge

Leadership Preparation Programs

 Does the course content support these requirements of effectiveness?

 Are state program approval standards aligned with them?

 Are programs organized to support best practices (e.g., clinical practice)?

 Are there proven practices or models to emulate?

Continuing Education and Support

 Effective professional development programs  Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership  Concept  Content  Organization and delivery  Distributive leadership  School district practices, including recruitment and compensation

Robert E. Feir Senior Fellow EPLC 717.230.8616

[email protected]