Instructional Leadership : Focus on Literacy

1. Instructional Leadership:Focus on Literacy West Virginia Department of Education Office of Special Programs

2. West Virginia’s Focus on Literacy

3. Instructional Leadership for Literacy:From Vision to Implementation

4. Strong leadership from both administrators and teachers is an essential building block in constructing a successful literacy program, but the role played by the principal is key to determining success or failure of the program. (Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals, 2008)

6. Literacy School Improvement Cycle Committed Instructional Leadership Strategic Accelerated Intervention Balanced Assessment Increased Student Achievement Ongoing, job-embedded research-based PD Highly Effective Teachers

7. Action Steps for the Literacy Leader • Determine school’s capacity for literacy improvement • Develop a Literacy Leadership Team (LLT) • Create a collaborative environment that fosters sharing and learning • Develop a schoolwide organizational model that supports extended time for literacy instruction • Analyze assessment data to determine specific learning needs of students • Develop a schoolwide plan to address professional development needs • Create a realistic budget for literacy needs • Understand and embed literacy strategies across the content areas • Demonstrate your commitment to the literacy program

8. “The philosophy that if we teach children to read by third grade we don’t have to worry anymore is definitely NOT true.” (Melvina Phillips, author of Creating a Culture of Literacy)

9. Reading Acquisition and Proficiency At K-3 students learn to read; at 4-12, students read to learn. While reading becomes an important tool for helping students expand their knowledge after grade 3, learning to read hardly comes to an abrupt halt.

10. K-3 Literacy

11. Key Elements for Improving K-3 Literacy

12. Center on Instruction Resources http://www.centeroninstruction.org/index.cfm

13. Teaching All Students to Read in Elementary School

14. Using Student Center Activities to Differentiate Reading Instruction

15. Intensive Reading Interventions for Struggling Readers in Early Elementary Grades

16. A Comprehensive K-3 Reading Assessment Plan

17. Literacy instruction must not stop as students enter middle school, but rather be a vital component of a student’s educational experience from kindergarten to graduation.

18. “While it is clear that content area teachers cannot be expected to teach struggling readers basic reading skills, they can help students develop the knowledge, reading strategies, and thinking skills to understand and learn from increasingly complex text in their content areas.” (Adolescent Literacy Walk-throughs for Principals, 2009)

19. Adolescent Literacy Elements

20. Key Elements for Improving 4-12 Literacy http://wvde.state.wv.us/instruction/aim_literacy.html

21. “The challenge for the Literacy Leadership Team, then, is to set goals that can be enacted by all stakeholders, measured for progress and revisited yearly for revision.” JoAnne Allain (2008)

22. Building a Strong LLT • Select 5-8 faculty members who represent the range of grades and the curriculum in the school • Selected members should be highly skilled, motivated and committed to improving literacy for all students • Suggested members include: • Principal/Curriculum leader • Reading/Instructional coach • Special educators • Content area teachers

23. Identifying Strengths and Challenges • Literacy Capacity Survey • Give the Literacy Capacity Survey • Collect results • Use as a planning guide for LLT • Assess Student Needs • Which assessment(s) will we use? • Large group tests as a “first cut” • Assess all struggling students beyond the WESTEST to determine specific needs (Tier 2 and 3) • Place students in appropriate tiers • Determine movement among tiers

24. Teach 21 includes important resources for the LLT http://wvde.state.wv.us/instruction/aim_literacy.html

25. Literacy Leadership Team Checklist • Select LLT members • Develop LLT meeting schedule • Communicate LLT roles/responsibilities to all staff • Complete Literacy Capacity Survey • Identify and prioritize literacy needs of students • Identify and prioritize professional development needs of teachers • Provide resources and strategies to support change

26. Change begins with a vision…a vision that grows out of the mind of the school leader and into the hearts of others. Take a minute to imagine your school as it might appear with a well-designed adolescentliteracy plan in place…

27. http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/tta_Main.pdfhttp://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/tta_Main.pdf

28. Effective Instruction for Adolescent Struggling Readers

29. Assessments to Guide Adolescent Literacy Instruction

30. The literacy leader is like a football coach or a conductor; the principal must skillfully pull the literacy elements together to achieve the ultimate goal of improved student literacy achievement.

31. A Principal’s Reading Walk-Through is a systematic way to collect real-time teaching and learning data.

32. A Principal’s Reading Walk-Through (PRWT) is not an evaluation.

33. Everyone can learn from objective comments about their practice.

34. Elements of an Adolescent Literacy Walk-through for Principals (ALWP) • Instructional Practices • Vocabulary and content knowledge instruction • Comprehension strategy instruction • Discussion of reading content • Motivation and engagement

35. Elements of an ALWP for Intervention (Grades 4-5 and 6-12) • Advanced word study instruction • Reading fluency instruction • Intervention protocols • Instructional materials

36. Three Uses of Walk-through Data

37. Observation and reflective practice support a school’s evolution into a professional learning community.

38. The point is to observe instruction, take notes, and open dialogue.

39. Teachers who feel enabled to succeed with students are more committed and effective than those who feel unsupported in their teaching and in their practice.

40. The Principal’s Reading Walk-Through helps track trends • over time, • by teachers, • by grade level, • by indicator, • by category.

41. http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/LiteracyCulture.htm l

43. http://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/LiteracyLeadershipContents.html

44. Principal's Reading Walk-through: K-3

45. Adolescent Literacy Walk-through for Principals

46. Reading Walk-Through Checklist for 1st Grade Classrooms

47. Reading Walk-through for Grades 4-5

48. Reading Walk-through for Grades 6-12

49. Guiding Questions for Literacy Leaders • How has my leadership supported literacy efforts? • What do our assessment scores reveal about literacy practices? • What do I consider the key elements of the professional development plan? • Are teachers skilled at integrating literacy strategies into their daily lessons? • What support do we provide for students who are below grade level in literacy?

50. Remember, success begins with the principal. The staff will look to their building leader to determine his or her support for a literacy program. A lack of commitment by either words or actions will kill the program before it begins. Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals (2005)