Developing Central Office and School Leadership Talent Dan Katzir The Broad Foundation November 19, 2008

1. Developing Central Office and School Leadership TalentDan KatzirThe Broad FoundationNovember 19, 2008

2. Focus of Today’s Session • How The Broad Foundation invests in and supports human capital in large urban school systems. • Superintendents & Central Office Leaders • Principals • HR Systems Transformation • Educator Effectiveness & Equity

3. The Broad Foundation: Who We Are • National $2.5 Billion Venture Fund • Focus on Large Urban School Systems • Mission: Dramatically improving student academic performance, eliminating achievement gaps and increasing college readiness • Areas of Investment: • Developing the Executive Talent Pipeline • Promoting School System Excellence & Innovation • Changing the Operating Environment

4. Why Human Capital? • TBF’s Theory of Change rests on the belief that great leaders are required to transform complex organizations, such as school districts. • We believe these individuals are critical to lead the bold, innovative, large-scale change required to ensure that every American child receives a world class education. • TBF has made investments in individual leaders who are on track to take on positions of authority in K-12 public education. • TBF has invested ~30% of its annual grant making in the area of leadership development. • TBF has accelerated its efforts to expand the pipeline for executive talent who can serve in the largest urban school systems in America.

5. TBF Learnings TBF Strategy • TBF assessment demonstrated there were very few high quality programs developing excellent systems-level leaders in K-12. • TBF believed that strong leaders were also required within the schools themselves. • In 2003, TBF realized a gap existed between these leadership levels, and that districts needed to fill leadership gaps in central office. • TBF then realized that this talent, high in demand, needed to be identified early on. TBF incubated The Broad Superintendents Academy and The Broad Institute for School Boards, which became our first flagship investments. TBF invested in numerous principal training programs: national, district-run (including some that partnered with universities), and charter. We created The Broad Residency, which recruits emerging non-traditional leaders to become the next generation of executive level managers in urban education. New investments were made to increase the leadership pipeline, through organizations such as Teach for America and Education Pioneers. Why Human Capital?

6. TBF Business Plan Objectives for Developing the Executive Leadership Talent Pipeline • GROWTH: Double the number of TBF-trained and placed leaders at the central office and school levels. • ACHIEVEMENT: 75% of TBF-funded leadership development programs will outpace comparison groups in raising student achievement, closing achievement gaps and increasing college readiness. • SUSTAINABILITY: 75% of TBF-funded leadership development programs meet or exceed targets related to organizational growth, operational excellence, financial stability and customer satisfaction.

7. Focus of Today’s Session • How The Broad Foundation invests in and supports human capital in large urban school systems. • Superintendents & Central Office Leaders • Principals • HR Systems Transformation • Educator Effectiveness & Equity

8. Executive Leadership Pipeline • The Broad Center • Broad Superintendents Academy • Broad Residency in Urban Education

9. Broad Center: Mission • To improve student achievement by recruiting, training and supporting executive leadership talent from across America to become the next generation of urban school district leaders.

10. The Broad Center – National Presence Philadelphia & Pittsburgh Chicago SF Bay Area NYC DC Area Los Angeles = 1 person = 2-5 people = 6-10 people = 11+ people 160 executives in school districts 35 executives in charter management organizations

11. Broad Superintendents Academy • Executive development program that identifies and prepares prominent leaders from all sectors, then places and supports them in urban school districts so they can drive dramatic improvement in the quality of education for America’s students. • Only program in the country that recruits both career educators and non-traditional leaders • Nearly 1000 applicants for 25 spots over the last two years • Average cohort is 40% women and 60% people of color

12. Target Candidates • Public Sector and Non-Profit Leaders • Executives in high-level positions in city, state or federal government. • Former or current elected officials, city managers, attorneys general, legislative chiefs of staff and other public sector leaders who oversee major government departments, budgets and personnel. • CEOs of major non-profit organizations (at least $50 million annual budget, multiple sites). • Private Sector Executives • Senior executives who have had direct responsibility for managing a business (or business unit) with a budget or revenues in excess of $250 million. • Entrepreneurs who have created, owned and/or grown a successful business.

13. Target Candidates • Military Officers • Former or current senior military officers such as generals, admirals, colonels and captains from the Air Force, Army, Navy or Marines. • Non-commissioned officers of the highest rank (E9 rank). • K-12 Education Executives • Currently serving as Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Academic Officer or Regional Superintendent in a large urban school system. • Currently serving as a superintendent in a small or mid-sized district. • CEO or Founder of a charter management organization (with multiple school sites).

14. Academy Training Program • The training program is designed to fill critical gaps in industry-specific knowledge, provide deep learning experiences with existing education leaders and innovators, foster professional and personal networks, and build practical management skills. • Ten month part-time executive course • Practical focus, facilitated by successful superintendents • Highly customized for participants

15. Placement and Support • Our ultimate goal is not only to prepare graduates to take on roles as executives in urban districts, but also support our graduates so they effect significant gains in student academic performance and other critical district success metrics. • Participants pursue a superintendent or senior cabinet level position within one year after graduation • Academy graduates have filled 20% of open large urban superintendent openings in the last 3 years. • Alumni Services are extensive and designed to ensure that graduates succeed in their new roles

16. The Broad Superintendents Academy has placed more superintendents in large urban districts than any other superintendent preparation program. Broad Academy Alumni Serving as District Superintendents Number of Active Superintendents Academy Superintendents serve a combined total of 2 million students

17. Impact on Accelerating Systems Reform Qualitative review by researchers at USC: • Broad Superintendents are taking best practices learned in the Academy and applying those lessons in rapid fashion in the areas of instructional improvement, operational excellence and community and stakeholder involvement. • The “Broad Launch” (alumni support provided as a superintendent begins in his/her new role) is particularly effective in achieving early wins and helping superintendents design a comprehensive strategic plans for their school systems. • The Broad network and knowledge sharing across Broad-trained leaders is also a key success factor.

18. Impact on Student Achievement Achievement after three or more testing cycles: • 85% of Academy superintendents are improving student achievement in at least 5 of 6 areas • 85% of Academy superintendents are outperforming comparison groups in increasing the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards. • 100% of Broad Academy superintendents are outperforming comparison groups in reducing the percentage of students at the lowest levels on state achievement exams.

19. The Broad Residency The Broad Residency is a leadership development program that recruits emerging leaders from outside education and immediately puts them into full-time managerial positions in urban school districts and charter management organizations.

20. The Broad Residency • Over 2500 applicants for 60 spots over the last 2 years. • Two-year commitment to work in management positions reporting to top levels of urban districts and CMOs. • Host organization and TBR split salary; host pays all benefits, and TBR funds all training costs. • Training sessions designed to ease transition into K-12 and accelerate leadership development. • National network, knowledge management system and alumni support services designed to ensure Resident is successful in driving change and having significant impact as level of executive responsibility increases.

21. Broad Resident Project Areas 6% Most Residents Work on 2 to 4 major projects during the Residency 8% 9% 10%

22. Broad Residency: Impact Human Resources • Raised principal satisfaction with HR from 17% to 98% • Removed 30% of teachers with more than one unsatisfactory rating from the classroom • Designed and implemented new student-based budgeting system using actual teacher salaries • Oversaw five consecutive years of clean financial audits • Developed transparent data system for school support and intervention • Designed and launched $4.5M data warehouse • Led community process to raise high school graduation standards beyond state requirements • Directly managing over 100 schools Finance/ Budgeting Management and Accountability Instruction/ Student Achievement

23. Alumni by Current Organizations • 91% in K-12 Education • 72% in Districts or CMOs • 78% at Director level or higher • 12% in Cabinet roles • Advancement seems to be accelerating

24. Focus of Today’s Session • How The Broad Foundation invests in and supports human capital in large urban school systems. • Superintendents & Central Office Leaders • Principals • HR Systems Transformation • Educator Effectiveness & Equity

25. Principals • We have focused our investments on the development of new or aspiring principals, rather than veterans • We fund principal preparation programs at the national, district and charter levels. • ****** • TBF is backing the research-based hypothesis that a school principal can and does affect student achievement at the school level. • Our investing strategy has been that better recruitment, selection, preparation and support of principals will yield higher performing principals. • BUT, no evaluation of principal training programs to date has used improvement in student achievement as a measure of success • TBF and our grantees are the first to use student achievement as the key measurement of the performance of principal training programs

26. Principals • We invest in programs that are: • Integrated with the overarching strategy for the school system. • Have intentional recruitment and selection processes and are highly selective • Include rigorous, practical pre-service coursework, coaching, and a medical-style residency element • Commit to place program graduates into school leadership roles immediately upon graduation • Provide ongoing support for early years on the job • Aim to dramatically increase student achievement

27. Principal Programs in the Portfolio • National programs • National Institute for School Leadership • New Leaders for New Schools • District programs • Boston’s School Leadership Institute • Gwinnett County’s Quality Plus Leadership program • Long Beach Unified’s Principal Apprentice program • New York Leadership Academy’s New School Intensive • Philadelphia’s ALPS program • Pittsburgh’s PELA program • San Diego’s Educational Leadership Development Academy • University of Illinois – Chicago Doctoral Program • Charter programs • California Charter Quality Institute • KIPP Foundation Fisher Fellowship

28. Principals: Investment Results to Date • Recruitment. 66% of grantees had good to great success at attracting high quality talent and meeting their recruitment targets • Participant Satisfaction. 75% of programs had participants who were satisfied with their training and who felt prepared to lead a K-12 school. • Placement. 80% of programs were successful in placing their participants in AP or principal positions soon after graduation. • Retention. 60% of our programs have the majority of their principals serving the same school 3 years later.

29. Principals: Investment Results to Date • Student Achievement. Only ~30% of grantee programs are demonstrating significant outperformance relative to comparison groups.

30. Measuring the “Principal Effect” on Student Achievement • The effect is indirect (i.e., principals can change organizational structure, climate, teacher quality, parent involvement, etc.—all of which may impact student achievement). • It is difficult to isolate this effect apart from all others. • The effect is not instantaneous and takes time to measure. • There is little in the existing research base to draw on.

31. Defining Student Achievement Impact • “Do aspiring principals from TBF-funded programs have a more positive impact on student achievement than aspiring principals not from TBF-funded programs?”

32. Defining Student Achievement Impact • TBF defines student achievement through five specific evaluation areas: • Increases in the percentage of all students who meet proficiency standards on the state test. • Decreases in the percentage of all students who perform at the lowest level on the state test. • Increases in the percentage of Black students who meet proficiency standards on the state test. • Increases in the percentage of Hispanic students who meet proficiency standards on the state test. • Increases in the percentage of Low Income students who meet proficiency standards on the state test.

33. Defining Student Achievement Impact • TBF defines impact as the target program’s outperformance vis-à-vis comparison groups: • Other new principals in district • District-wide average • Historical performance of the school (up to three years prior to principal’s first testing cycle year)

34. Triangulation Pilot • TBF-funded principal training programs are not having the desired impact. • What conditions may be impacting achievement levels? • Principal characteristics: prior experience and effectiveness, • Program elements: curriculum, placement process, support • School characteristics: type, size, demographics, prior student achievement, attendance rates, teacher turnover… Principal Student test scores Program School

35. Triangulation Pilot: Research Questions • Are the schools served by the alumni of TBF funded programs discernibly different from the average district school? If so, how? • What are the program effects for the principal training programs funded by TBF? • Is there a discernible relationship between a principal’s career path and their ability to positively impact student achievement in their schools controlling for school characteristics? • How do the qualifications of teachers in a principal’s school contribute to a principal’s ability to positively impact student achievement? • Are there other program outcomes that occur in parallel or even before student achievement outcomes?

36. Triangulation Pilot: Results • Elements most highly correlated with student achievement gains: • Early placement as a principal • Student attendance rates • Years as principal (i.e. retention in same school) Principal Student test scores Program School

37. Best Practices • Clearly articulated district-wide and principal preparation program goal to reach high student achievement results for all children • Specific strategies for human capital need to surround the preparation program so that behaviors and practices are reinforced in other areas of personnel management across the system. • Clearly defined principal performance expectations that align to job description and require evidence of a relentless focus on improving student achievement • Process for measuring performance for formative and evaluative purposes • Mix of incentives and rewards for high achievement at individual and school levels

38. Focus of Today’s Session • How The Broad Foundation invests in and supports human capital in large urban school systems. • Superintendents & Central Office Leaders • Principals • HR Systems Transformation • Educator Effectiveness & Equity

39. HR Department transformation is critical to any significant district reform effort • Up to 80% of the district budget is spent on human capital • Recruited, trained, deployed, supported and incentivized appropriately, teachers, principals and district staff are key drivers of student performance

40. HR Departments in most urban school systems are woefully underperforming • Districts are unable to attract and retain top talent. • Districts cannot staff enough teachers qualified to teach high needs areas such as math and science. • The highest need schools are staffed with the most inexperienced instructors. • Performance management systems are nonexistent or stifled by regulations, contracts and compliance mentality. • HR organizations are restricted by inefficient systems, archaic processes and a transaction oriented culture.

41. Expected Outcomes • Dramatically shorter transaction cycles • Customer-focused culture • High customer satisfaction • Earlier hiring of instructors and principals • Hiring of more qualified instructors • Increased retention of high-quality instructors The goal of an HR transformation is to create an efficient HR department that can strategically improve the recruitment, support, and retention of high quality teachers and principals. District Post HR Trans Strategic Focus District Pre HR Trans Transactional Efficiency

42. TBF Investments • Boston: Increase productivity through automation of hiring and other HR processes. Redesign organization to support the use of the new technology. • Chicago: Implement HR management system to streamline hiring and payroll, enable better employee service, track employee PD and performance. • NYC: Design best-in-class HR organization, develop a centralized service center to serve employees, create an HR partner network as a resource to principals.

43. HR Transformation Results

44. Lessons Learned Efficiency alone will not improve hiring timelines Projects must focus on removing structural and cultural barriers to ensure earlier hiring of principals and teachers. • Example: BPS, built a process and removed policy barriers that prevent early hiring, but did not create incentives or engage in the cultural change necessary to break principals from habitual late-summer hiring practices. Time Strategic improvements have not yet been recognized since not enough time has elapsed for reforms to take hold. • Example: Operational improvements have led to CPS HR developing strategic functions such as its talent management function. However, the improvement of the human capital metrics will not be realized until this strategic function has been in place for multiple years.

45. Lessons Learned Departments outside of HR can restrict hiring timelines The processes established by budget and finance can impact HR’s ability to manage recruiting processes. • Example: In BPS, the time to post a new position has increased due to the slow approval process of budgeting and finance. In CPS, Principals will not begin hiring until they have received their budget from finance. Implementation issues All three districts experienced significant implementation challenges that have delayed their ability to pursue strategic reforms • Examples: High turnover of HR staff and delays in implementing enterprise software.

46. Lessons Learned Too much focus on technology Although technology is an important foundation for operational improvement, the challenges associated with an implementation can distract HR leadership from addressing strategic issues. Lack of tools and other decision making frameworks Each of the transformed HR departments is addressing strategic issues. However, they do not currently have the information and tools needed to make strategic decisions. • Examples: ROI for teacher preparation programs, hiring channels and advertising. Teacher quality analysis for pre-tenure teachers.

47. TBF has measured improvement in district hiring timelines as a proxy for strategic impact (research suggests that early hiring provides greater access to higher quality applicants). What we learned: Structural and cultural factors that were NOT addressed by our grants have prevented significant movement in the hiring timelines of our grantees. Teacher Hiring Timeline Reasons for delays in the process Part of TBF grant Application processing Yes Principal habits and behavior No Budget timelines No No Interview process Improving the transactional speed of hiring is not enough on its own to drive significant change.

48. Focus of Today’s Session • How The Broad Foundation invests in and supports human capital in large urban school systems. • Superintendents & Central Office Leaders • Principals • HR Systems Transformation • Educator Effectiveness & Equity

49. Educator Effectiveness and Equity • Performance Management Systems • Pay for Performance • Best Educators in Neediest Schools • Learning First Agreement • Education School Ratings

50. Discussion