DISTRICT LEADERSHIP THAT WORKS

1. DISTRICT LEADERSHIP THAT WORKS STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE SHEREE BRYANT LEADER SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP CHICAGO, IL APRIL 27, 2010

2. ROBERT MARZANO AND TIM WATERS CONDUCTED A META-ANALYSIS STUDY TO ANSWER TWO QUESTIONS: WHAT IS THE STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISTRICT-LEVEL ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS AND AVERAGE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ? WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC DISTRICT LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT?

3. REVIEWED STUDIES BETWEEN 1970 – 2005CRITERIA FOR STUDIES • SHOWED A CORRELATION BETWEEN DISTRICT LEADERSHIP AND STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT • USED A STANDARDIZED MEASURE OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OR AN INDEX BASE ON A STANDARDIZED MEASURE OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

4. TWENTY-SEVEN REPORTS • 2,714 DISTRICTS INVOLVED • 4,500 RATINGS OF SUPERINTENDENTS LEADERSHIP • 3.4 MILLION REPORTS OF STUDENT ACHIEVMENT

5. FOURTEEN REPORTS OF THE TWENTY-SEVEN REPORTS INVOLVING 1,210 DISTRICTS • SHOWED A CORRELATION BETWEEN DISTRICT LEADERSHIP AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT OF .24 • FINDINGS ARE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT AT THE .05 LEVEL

6. STUDY FOUND FIVE DISTRICT-LEVEL LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES WITH A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION

7. 1. ENSURING COLLABORATIVE GOAL SETTING2. ESTABLISHING NONGEGOTIABLE GOALS FOR ACHIEVEMENT AND INSTRUCTION3. CREATING BOARD ALIGNMENT WITH AND SUPPORT OF DISTRICT GOALS4. MONITORING ACHIEVMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS5. ALLOCATING RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE GOALS FOR ACHIEVEMENT AND INSTRUCTION

8. BARRIERS TO DISTRICT LEADERSHIP • SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE LOOSELY COUPLED ORGANIZATIONS • NO SYSTEM FOR CONSENSUS ON GOALS • NO SELF-CORRECTING SYSTEM • NO WAY TO PREDICT OR SYSTEMATICALLY ADDRESS PROBLEMS • 1990-1995 MOVE TO SITE-BASED MANAGEMENT • CARNEGIE FORUM ON EDUCATION AND THE ECONOMY AND THE HOLMES GROUP REPORT SUPPORTED SCHOOL LEVEL LEADERSHIP • SCHOOLS OPERATE AS INDEPENDENT ENTITIES • TEACHERS OPERATE AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

9. SITE-BASED MANAGEMENT • LITTLE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE EFFECT OF SITE-BASED MANAGEMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT – JENKINS, RONK, SCHRAG, RUDE, AND STOWITSCHEK (1994) • LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT SCHOOL-BASED MANAGEMENT PRODUCES SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ATTITUDES OF ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS OR THE INSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENTS OR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT – MALEN, OGAWA, AND KRANZ (1990)

10. THREE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT GETTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO BECOME TEACHERS DEVELOPING THEM INTO EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTORS ENSURING THAT THE SYSTEM IS ABLE TO DELIVER THE BEST POSSIBLE INSTRUCTION FOR EVERY CHILD

11. The MCKINSEY AND COMPANY STUDY FOUND THE ONLY WAY TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES IS TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION COACHING CLASSROOM PRACTICE MOVING TEACHER TRAINING TO THE CLASSROOM DEVELOPING STRONGER SCHOOL LEADERS ENABLING TEACHERS TO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER

12. THE DISTRICT’S ROLE SET NONNEGOTIABLE INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS – SUPPORTED BY THE DISTRICT LEADERSHIP DEDICATE RESOURCES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROVIDE STRONG AND KNOWLEDEGABLE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AT BOTH THE DISTRICT AND SCHOOL LEVEL ONGOING MONITORING OF INSTRUCTIONAL QUALITY

13. DISTRICT LEADERSHIP

14. MEASURING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT • SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT • USED FOR ACCOUNTABILITY • MONITOR AND RECORD STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT • PROVIDES LITTLE INFORMATION FOR ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING • FORMATIVELY BASED VALUE-ADDED/GROWTH SYSTEM • RESEARCH SHOWS THAT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING • PROVIDES MORE FREQUENT ASSESSMENTS FOR MONITORING PROGRESS

15. HIGHLY EFFECTIVE/QUALIFIED TEACHERS • TEACHER LICENSING • TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM ACCREDITATION • ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION • WHAT MATTERS MOST: TEACHING FOR American’s Future (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 1998)

16. Nine Instructional Strategies Supported by Research IDENTIFYING SIMILARIES AND DIFFERENCES SUMMARIZING AND NOTE TAKING REINFORCING EFFORT AND PROVIDING RECOGNITION HOMEWORK AND PRACTICE NONLINGUISTIC REPRESENTATIONS COOPERATIVE LEARING SETTING OBJECTIVES AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK GENERATING AND TESTING HYPOTHESES QUESTIONS, CUES, AND ADVANCE ORGANIZERS

17. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES RULES AND PROCEDURES DISCIPLINARY INTERVENTIONS TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS TEACHER MENTAL SET

18. COLLABRATIVE GOAL SETTING SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SUPERINTENDENT DISTRICT OFFICE STAFF PRINCIPALS TEACHERS STUDENTS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY (TEACHER UNIONS IF APPLICABLE)

19. ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES RESEARCH SHOWS THAT IT IS NOT HOW MUCH MONEY IS SPENT, BUT HOW IT IS SPENT THAT AFFECTS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

20. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES INCREASED TIME FOR TEACHERS TO STUDY THEIR CRAFT TEACHERS PLANNING TOGETHER DEVELOPING AND SCORING ASSESSMENTS TOGETHER READING AND DISCUSSING PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE TOGETHER OBSERVING EACH OTHER USING INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

21. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS • DISTRICT LEADERSHIP • THERE IS A .24 CORRELATION BETWEEN DISTRICT LEADERSHIP AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT • THIS IS .05 STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT • SCHOOL LEADERSHIP • THERE IS A .25 CORRELATION BETWEEN SCHOOL LEVEL LEADERSHIP AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT • THIS IS ALSO ABOUT A .05 STATSTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

22. Advice for District Leaders KNOW THE IMPLICATIONS OF YOUR INITIATIVES MAINTAIN A UNIFIED FRONT KEEP THE BIG IDEAS IN THE FOREFRONT USE WHAT IS KNOW ABOUT ACCEPTANCE OF NEW IDEAS COMMUNICATE WITH “STICKY MESSAGES” MANAGE PERSONAL TRANSITIONS