School Leadership for the Future, Now

1. School Leadership for the Future, Now Dr. Tim London Queen’s University, Belfast T.London@qub.ac.uk

2. Where we are: • Evolution... • ...with dreams of transformation.

3. But... • Flawed perspectives; • An uncertain future;

4. Not to mention... • The constantly changing environment... • ...around our constantly changing system.

5. We need... • ...to rethink what it is we want; • rethink what we’re doing to get there (or not!); • and THEN make a plan for moving forward.

6. First step • We need to stop thinking of educational reform as an engine to fixand accept that we will NEVER know exactly what the future holds • This is not leaving everything to fate, it is accepting reality (Inshallah and mumkinmishmumkin) • Accepting this reality allows us to objectively consider what needs to be changed and what needs to be left alone

7. Next Steps 1) Design systems that balance accountability/liability issues with thoughtful mixes of centralization and local control • I want to be able to fire you and shut down your school • Fine, I also want to be able to reward you and let you keep the extra money • If everything is done at only one level, nothing will ever get done • A blast from 1926: giving orders is not the same as providing training • Structural reform requires personnel reform

8. Next Steps 2) Rethink what we expect teachers to do and then hire, retain, train, and promote accordingly • “What makes you think you’re qualified?” • “I don’t care how long you’ve been here...” • Very expensive and time consuming training • Lead from the middle • Believers in data, research, and “information uptake” • Long story short, SOOO much more than curricula transmitters

9. Next Steps 3) Consider what types of leaders we need to make such a system (policies, resources, and people) work effectively and efficiently • Move beyond a collection of skills to demanding • divergent thinkers, • multi-talented/multi-disciplinary, • flexible/adaptive, and • believers in data, research, and “information uptake”. • Given the complexity of the systems, the day of the hero has passed

10. More to the point for leaders... Society Educational System School Leaders

11. Systemically • Set clear and measurable goals • No more “student achievement”, “reading ability”, etc. • Design assessment systems that give fuller, diversified, and more precise feedback on outcomes AND processes (summative and formative) • Divest more liability to the school level which increases multiple types of accountability • Bureaucratic, legal, professional, political • Accountability means more freedom (staff and parents) • All of this makes the system delicate and flexible!

12. Within such a system... • The expectations for people change dramatically • Teachers have to be much more than content specialists and be organizational levers • Hiring, retention, and promotion now hinge on measurable performance and diverse skills • Chief among those skills will be the ability to balance the art and science of education • Crucially, people can no longer drift along and bank on the mysticism surrounding education

13. And the leaders? • Recognize that they can’t do it all and figure out how to best share leadership • Beyond assessments, possess multiple “information uptake” mechanisms • This is not just data generation, but data usage to monitor progress and adjust goals as needed • Know that there is more to successful schools than teaching and learning

14. So what do leaders do? • Establish the school’s fundamental values • I beg of you, no hollow mission statements! • Negotiate space in the system • In the short term, this gives a school flexibility • In the long term, this puts pressure on the system to figure out ways to change • Figure out how best to answer the question: “What is going on with my school and the people connected to it?”