How can we be the absolute best principals we can be?

1. How can we be the absolute best principals we can be? A colleague to colleague program to provide clarity and confidence identifying our own inner strengths as the instructional leaders in schools.

2. Professional Relationships • For COSA members, opportunities abound to establish and enhance professional relationships -- relationships that can help to improve your job performance and further your career.  Among these relationship-building opportunities are: • COSA Conferences and Workshops for professional development • Involvement in the work of COSA or its four departments: OASE, OASSA, OESPA or OACOA • Participation online in COSA blogs, discussions, chats and more • Receive discounts in purchasing high quality professional development books and materials via Barnes and Noble Online • The professional relationships you develop as a COSA member will serve you well when you desire a peer's assistance, referral, advice or support. 

3. OESPA 20/20 Leaders Vision • The OESPA Executive Committee approved a program to invest in its members a pilot program with a set budget for a maximum $20 meal/mileage reimbursement to connect aspiring teacher leaders or re-connect other members in the field. • Members are encouraged to schedule time during the upcoming in-service/parent conference/district furlough/federal holiday breaks in November to meet with others who have been isolated or are in transition to a new position, location, or “other duties as assigned” in their districts. • The collaborative power of our members’ experience, focus and impact on education is unparalleled.

4. Program Guidelines • Must be a current Active OESPA member. • Must meet for a face to face 20 minute minimum breakfast/lunch meeting within 20 miles of their school (may vary depending on region) with an aspiring or another COSA member you haven’t connected with this school year. • Must complete and submit (fax, scan, or email) the attached online COSA reimbursement form and complete the 20/20 Leaders Vision online survey. (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=UE6HTj5T8uiY64z8xyuw2g_3d_3d) • Must discuss one or more of the core NAESP standards for effective instructional leaders during your conversation.

5. Sentence Starters—Reflections • An educational article I read’s key points made were… • The change in my school this year I see having the best impact on student learning is… • I would like to hear how you would approach this issue… • My personal/professional road ahead looks… • The next time we meet I want to…

6. Peter Drucker & “We/Team” Leaders...Trust & Efficacy • Peter F. Drucker • “The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I’. And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say ‘I’. They don’t think ‘I’. They think ‘we’; they think ‘team’. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit…. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.”

7. NAESP Standards for What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do • In October 2008, every NAESP member received a copy of the revised second edition of this national standard setting book. The six core areas for effective instructional leadership are: • Lead schools in a way that places student and adult learning at the center. • Set high expectations and standards for the academic and social development of all students and the performance of adults. • Demand content and instruction that ensure student achievement of agreed-upon academic standards. • Create a culture of continuous learning for adults tied to student learning and other school goals. • Use multiple sources of data as diagnostic tools to assess, identify and apply instructional improvement. • Actively engage the community to create shared responsibility for student and school success.

8. Oregon Continuing Administrator License Standards (584-017-261 SS 1) (1) Visionary Leadership: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the knowledge, ability, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a school or district vision of learning supported by the school community. (a) Candidates develop a vision. Candidates: (A) Develop and demonstrate the skills needed to work with a board of education to facilitate the development of a vision of learning for a school district that promotes the success of all students; (B) Base development of the vision on relevant knowledge and theories applicable to school-level leaders applied to a school district context; (C) Use data-based research strategies to create a vision that takes into account the diversity of learners in a district; and (D) Demonstrate knowledge of ways to use a district's vision to mobilize additional resources to support the vision. (b) Candidates articulate a vision. Candidates: (A) Demonstrate the ability to articulate the components of this vision for a district and the leadership processes necessary to implement and support the vision; (B) Demonstrate the ability to use data-based research strategies and strategic planning processes that focus on student learning to develop a vision, drawing on relevant information sources such as student assessment results, student and family demographic data, and an analysis of community needs; and (C) Demonstrate the ability to communicate the vision to school boards, staff, parents, students, and. community members through the use of symbols, ceremonies, stories, and other activities (c) Candidates implement a vision. Candidates: (A) Demonstrate the ability to plan programs to motivate staff, students, and families to achieve a school district’s vision; and (B) Design research-based processes to effectively implement a district vision throughout an entire school district and community. (d) Candidates steward a vision. Candidates: (A) Demonstrate the ability to align and, as necessary, redesign administrative policies and practices required for full implementation of a district vision; and (B) Understand the theory and research related to organizational and educational leadership and engage in the collection, organization, and analysis of a variety of information, including student performance data, required to assess progress toward a district's vision, mission, and goals. (e) Candidates promote community involvement in the vision. Candidates: (A) Demonstrate the ability to bring together and communicate effectively with stakeholders within the district and the larger community concerning implementation and realization of the vision.

9. Questions & Support • Tim Larkin, President • Mike Scott, President-Elect • Mike Donnelly, Past President • Carlynn Capps, NAESP Rep • Vicki Jenkins, Central Rep • Jodi O’Mara, Coastal Rep • Suzanne Dalton, Professional Development Coordinator • Shane Pratt, Eastern Rep • Steve Powell, Metro Rep • Joe Frazier, Southern Rep • Tina Acker, At Large • Todd Baughman, At Large • suzanne@cosa.k12.or.us • COSA office (503) 581-3141 Contact any of your 2009-10 OESPA regional officers email, phone, fax info at http://www.cosa.k12.or.us/about/oespaboard.html