The Principal’s Impact on Student Achievement

1. The Principal’s Impact on Student Achievement

2. Leading and teaching is challenging work.

3. What do good principals do?

4. Design a Principal

5. Personal Qualities • Caring • Commitment • Fairness • Focus • Professional • Etc.

6. What do Good Principals Do? Instructional Leadership School Climate Professionalism The Principal Human Resources Management Communication & Community Relations Organizational Management

7. The Principal’s Impact on Student Achievement Two Facts and a Fib

8. Instructional Leadership • Principals of high-achieving schools have a clear vision and communicate to all stakeholders that learning is the school’s most important mission. • A transformational leadership style yields greater student achievement effects than an instructional leadership style. • Effective principals understand that they cannot reach instructional goals alone, so they distribute leadership across their schools, which in turn contributes to sustainable improvements within the school organization.

9. Instructional Leadership • Principals of high-achieving schools have a clear vision and communicate to all stakeholders that learning is the school’s most important mission(Cotton, 2003; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Zmuda, Kuklis, & Kline, 2004). • FALSE!A transformational leadership style yields greater student achievement effects than an instructional leadership style.There is growing evidence that basic “instructional” leadership activities have a greater impact on student learning than a focus on transformational leadership (Hattie, 2009). • Effective principals understand that they cannot reach instructional goals alone, so they distribute leadership across their schools, which in turn contributes to sustainable improvements within the school organization (Blasé & Blasé, 1999; Hargreaves & Fink, 2003).

10. School Climate • There is a positive relationship between school climate and leadership, which affects overall school effectiveness. • Attempting to change the prevailing culture of a school is one of the more time-consuming, yet easiest tasks of the school leader. • Relationship-building and stakeholder involvement are of fundamental importance in establishing and sustaining school success.

11. School Climate • There is a positive relationship between school climate and leadership, which affects overall school effectiveness (Barth, 2002; Hallinger, Bickman, & Davis, 1996; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Villani, 1997). • FALSE!Attempting to change the prevailing culture of a school is one of the more time-consuming, yet easiest tasks of the school leader. Attempting to change the prevailing culture of a school is one of the more difficult tasks of the school leader(Barth, 2002; Fullan, 2001). • Relationship-buildingand stakeholder involvement are of fundamental importance in establishing and sustaining school success (Cotton, 2003; Fullan, 2001; Kytheotis & Pashiartis, 1998; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005).

12. Human Resources Management • The principals of effective schools work with ineffective teachers over an extended period of time to improve their performance. • Effective administrators provide the time, resources, and structure for meaningful professional development and recognize the teacher leadership within the building. • Principals who are risk takers and who help in problem solving are more likely to empower and retain teachers.

13. Human Resources Management • FALSE! The principals of effective schools work with ineffective teachers over an extended period of time to improve their performance.Principals of effective schools expect ineffective teachers to change, or they are removed (Mendro, 1998). • Effective administrators provide the time, resources, and structure for meaningful professional development and recognize the teacher leadership within the building (Blasé & Blasé, 2001; Cotton, 2003; Drago-Severson, 2004; Fullan, Bertani, & Quinn, 2004). • Principals who are risk takers and who help in problem solving are more likely to empower and retain teachers (Blasé & Blasé, 2001; Charlotte Advocates for Education, 2004).

14. Organizational Management • Maintaining a safe and orderly environment can affect teaching and learning positively and is therefore a fundamental responsibility of school administrators. • Principals of effective schools respect teachers’ skills and judgment, but limit their autonomy in organizing and managing their classrooms. • The principal’s skill in organizational management (e.g., hiring, providing PD, managing budgets) has a greater impact on school effectiveness than observing in classrooms.

15. Organizational Management • Maintaining a safe and orderly environment can affect teaching and learning positively and is therefore a fundamental responsibility of school administrators (Cotton, 2003; Lashway, 2001; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Shellard, 2003). • FALSE! Principals of effective schools respect teachers’ skills and judgment, but limit their autonomy in organizing and managing their classrooms. Effective principals allow their teachers considerable autonomy in managing and organizing their classrooms (Cotton, 2003). • The principal’s skill in organizational management (e.g., hiring, providing PD, managing budgets) has a greater impact on school effectiveness than observing in classrooms (Horng, Klasik, & Loeb, 2009).

16. Communication & Community Relations • Successful school leaders must be able to work effectively with parent, community, business, and government representatives. • Relationship-building and stakeholder involvement are of fundamental importance in establishing and sustaining school success. • While important, principals seldom lose their jobs for negative interpersonal relationships.

17. Communication & Community Relations • Successful school leaders must be able to work effectively with parent, community, business, and government representatives (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003). • Relationship-building and stakeholder involvement are of fundamental importance in establishing and sustaining school success (Cotton, 2003; Fullan, 2001; Kytheotis & Pashiartis, 1998; Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005). • FALSE! While important, principals seldom lose their jobs for negative interpersonal relationships. The number one reason that principals lose their jobs is for negative interpersonal relationships (Davis, 1998).

18. Professionalism • Effective principals communicate and model core values through their interactions with students and teachers; most importantly, they model that they care for and have a genuine concern for children. • Effective principals balance responsibilities associated with educating students with the needs of teachers. • Effective principals should receive professional development that focuses mainly on their roles and responsibilities.

19. Professionalism • Effective principals communicate and model core values through their interactions with students and teachers; most importantly, they model that they care for and have a genuine concern for children(Cotton, 2003). • Effective principals balance responsibilities associated with educating students with the needs of teachers (Gross & Shapiro, 2000; Tschannen-Moran, 2004) • FALSE!Effective principals should receive professional development that focuses mainly on their roles and responsibilities. Just as important is professional development with a focus on the nuances of context that affect their decisions. The when and why are just as critical as the what and how(Waters & Grubb, 2004).

20. Overall Impact of Principals • The quickest way to change the effectiveness of a school, for better or worse, is to change the principal. • The principal variable accounts for between 2% and 8% of the variance in student test scores. • Principals in high performing schools place higher pressure on their teachers to perform well on standardized tests.

21. Overall Impact of Principals • The quickest way to change the effectiveness of a school, for better or worse, is to change the principal. • The principal variable accounts for between 2% and 8% of the variance in student test scores. • False! Principals in high performing schools place higher pressure on their teachers to perform well on standardized tests.“Principals in lower performing schools are more likely to modify their leadership focus to place a greater emphasis on improving test scores. Principals in higher performing schools seemed to focus on educating the whole child rather than simply concentrating on raising test scores” (Reed et al., 2001).

22. Quiz “Grading”: How’d You Do? # of Correct Answers Classification 8+ You can’t count 6 – 7 Major genius 4 – 5 Regular sort of genius 2 – 3 Not too shabby 1 Thanks for playing; please try again 0 Good news! Zero is as low as you can go!

23. Instructional Leadership • Building a Vision • Sharing Leadership • Leading Learning Community • Using Data • Monitoring Curriculum & Instruction

24. School Climate • Positive Climate • High Expectations • Practice of Respect

25. Human Resources Management • Selecting Quality Teachers & Others • Inducting & Supporting Staff • Providing Growth Opportunities • Retaining Quality Staff • Evaluating Teachers

26. Hiring Effective principals know the hiring system and use the information to gain access to the best possible candidates. Hallinger & Heck, 1996

27. Fragmented HR Functions Hire Evaluate Develop

28. Aligned HR Functions • Hire Develop • Evaluate Develop

29. Teacher Evaluation

30. Grade Inflation Chicago: 2003-04 through 2007-08 Superior 25,332 Excellent 9,176 Satisfactory 2,232 Unsatisfactory 149 • New Teacher Project, Widget Effect, 2009

31. Organizational Management • Safety • Daily Operations • Facilities Maintenance • Securing & Using Resources

32. Communication & Community Relations • Effective Communicator • Communicate with Families • Communicate with Larger Community

33. Professionalism • Ethical Standards • Role Model • Professional Development for the Principal

34. What is the impact of principals on student achievement?

35. Influences on Student Achievement:Explained Variance Hattie, http://acer.edu.au/documents (2003)

36. “ …the principal pipeline seems to leak” Viadero, 2009, Oct 28, EdWeek, p. 14

37. Average Tenure of Principals • Elementary School = 4.96 years • Middle School = 4.48 years • High School = 3.38 years Study of Texas 16,500+ principals, 1995-2008 Fuller & Young, 2009, UCEA

38. Principal Turnover After 6 years – percentage still working as principals: • North Carolina: 48% • Illinois: 38% Gates, RAND Corp., 2004

39. Gary Player The harder I work the luckier I am.

40. … but it is hard work.

41. Questions?