Quality Leadership for School Improvement

1. Quality Leadership for School Improvement Jody C. Isernhagen University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2. Goal: To provide leadership that improves student achievement

3. The World of Education is Changing From A focus on teaching To A focus on learning

4. SIX CONDITIONS THAT DEMAND WE CHANGE • Historically, we’ve moved from access to knowledge to acquisition of knowledge. • The public’s perception of schools has shifted from TRUST ME to SHOW ME. • The purpose of the public schools has changed from sorting/selecting students to providing higher levels of achievement for all students.

5. SIX CONDITIONS THAT DEMAND WE CHANGE • The gap in achievement levels between the highest and lowest performing students is too wide. • An increasingly high percentage of students are being passed through the system without demonstrating mastery of valued results. • A radical change in the nature of the student population over the past ten years requires a similar change in the educational system.

6. Leadership Leadership is the exercise of high-level conceptual skills and decisiveness. It is envisioning mission, developing strategy, inspiring people, and changing culture. Evans (1996). The Human Side of Change

7. Effective Leadership Fullan (2001) states that two things can aid us in our pursuit for effective leadership: • Knowledge base for what makes success under conditions of complexity is getting better-deeper and more insightful. • There are more examples of large scale transformation of organizations in both business and education to learn from. (p. x-xi)

8. Complexity Fullan (2001) emphasized: “The more complex society gets, the more sophisticated leadership must become.” (p.ix)

9. Framework for Leadership Fullan based this framework on 5 components: • Moral Purpose • Understand the change process • Relationship building • Knowledge creation and sharing • Coherence making

10. 1. Moral purpose Acting with intention of making a positive difference! Develop a basis for the single standard: Commit to absolute values… ”Leaders have the greatest responsibility. Without the compass of absolute values, what instrument do they have to guide others?” Nair, 1997, p. 20

11. Moral Purpose Acknowledge the ideal: Commit to the journey… “Doing what we believe is right is what keeps us on the path toward the ideal.” Nair, 1997, P. 27 “The object is to try to do everything a little better tomorrow than it was done today. Continuous improvement is the path to a higher standard of leadership.” Nair(1997) p. 28

12. Moral Purpose Develop the guide that will keep you on the journey: Commit to training your conscience! “It is easy to stay on the path; we all need assistance. It is important that we associate with colleagues who share our commitment to be on the path.” Nair (1997), p.30 “Disciplined reflection does not take time away from work; it sustains the spirit and increases the intensity and quality of work.” Nair (1997) p.36

13. Moral Purpose Be willing to stand scrutiny: Commit to minimizing secrecy “Secrecy is the enemy of trust and is responsible for much of the distrust that exists between business and society, corporations and customers, management and employers, (schools and stakeholders) Nair (1994),p. 43 “Making it difficult for others to get information is an indirect way to maintain secrecy.” Nair (1994), p.46

14. Moral Principle of Leadership • No teacher or staff member will be more accountable than the leaders in the system. • No child in any school will be more accountable than the adults in the system. Reeves (2004), Accountability for Learning, p. 20

15. 2. Understand the change process • The goal is not to innovate the most. • It is not enough to have the best ideas. • Appreciate the implementation dip. • Redefine resistance. • Reculturing is the name of the game. • Never a checklist, always a complexity. “Understanding the change process is less about innovation and more about innovativeness” (Fullan, p.31) “Change can be led, and leadership does make a difference.” (p.34)

16. Understanding ChangeCommon Mistakes • Allowing too much complexity • Failing to create a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition • Underestimating the power of vision • Under communicating the vision • Permitting structural and cultural obstacles to block change • Failing to create short term wins • Declaring victory too soon • Neglecting to anchor changes firmly in culture DuFour & Eaker (1998) Professional Learning Communities At Work

17. 3. Relationship Building Fullan stated. “Let’s talk about schools as if they had minds…” “Shared experience creates the deepest understanding and the most lasting bonds… (Nair(1997) p. 87 “The greatest source of power in any organization is personal power: the character, courage, determination, knowledge, and skills of the individual members of the organization.” Nair (1997) p.91

18. 4. Knowledge creation and sharing “The logic of what we are talking about should be clear: • Complex, turbulent environments constantly generate messiness and reams of ideas: • Interacting individuals are the key to accessing and sorting out these ideas; • Individuals will not engage in sharing unless they find it motivating to do so.” Fullan, p.86-87 “By acknowledging the truth in the collection and interpretation of data, leaders not only see issues in a broader context, they create integrity in the process.” Nair (1997) p. 113

19. 5. Coherence Making “ In schools, …the main problem is not the absence of innovations but the presence of too many disconnected, episodic, piecemeal, superficially adorned projects.” Fullan, p. 109 “When you combine your personal commitment with respect of the commitment of others, you will initiate a compounding effect that will create a commitment to service throughout the organization.” Nair, p. 81

20. Ultimate Test and Goal of a Leader “Whether your leadership mobilizes people’s commitment to putting their energy into actions designed to improve things. Both individual and collective mobilization is needed to cause “more good things to happen” and “fewer bad things to happen.” (Fullan, p. 10)

21. Think about the children you care for everyday… (Those little darlings)