High Stakes Leadership: The Imperative for Change

1. High Stakes Leadership: The Imperative for Change Discussion of No Child Left Behind and Maryland's educational reform effortsMarch 2002 Title I Partner Schools Network May 21, 2002 Dr. Elizabeth Donohoe, Frostburg State University Dr. Mike Hickey, Center for Leadership in Education Towson University

2. Center for Leadership in Education

3. A Confluence of Forces • Standards-driven reform • No Child Left Behind • Rigorous state-level reform efforts • Emergence of education—not just locally, but nationally as well—as a top priority Center for Leadership in Education

4. Standards-based reform: Schools and school systems—and the people who comprise them—should be held accountable for their contributions to student learning. Center for Leadership in Education

5. Key elements • Standards for what should be taught and the effectiveness of how it is taught • Standards for what should be learned and how effectively that learning is demonstrated Center for Leadership in Education

6. Major Impacts of NCLB • Annual Testing • Academic Improvement • Report Cards • Teacher Qualifications • Teacher and Principal Quality • Technology Center for Leadership in Education

7. Major Impacts of NCLBAcademic Improvement • Acceptable Yearly Performance (AYP) • EVERY student proficient in 12 years • Proficiency level increased to 100% • Reading, math and another academic indicator Center for Leadership in Education

8. Major Impacts of NCLBAcademic Improvement • Penalty for inadequate performance • Level 1 (2 years):technical assistance, public school choice • Level 2 (3 years): supplemental education services, individual tutoring • Level 3 (4 years): corrective actions, staff change • Level 4 (5 years): school reconstitution, alternative governance structure Center for Leadership in Education

9. Achievement Matters MostReport of the Visionary Panel for Better Schools,January,2002 • Develop a state-wide K-12 curriculum • Align K-12 curriculum and assessment • Widen the focus of accountability • Make every school accountable for the performance of every child Center for Leadership in Education

10. Achievement Matters Most (continued) • Certify only teachers who can demonstrate high-level knowledge • Place the best principals and teachers in the lowest performing schools • Shift focus of principal to instructional leadership • Stop trying to buy educational reform “on the cheap” Center for Leadership in Education

11. Pathologies of the Existing System • Isolated work is the norm; collective work is the exception • Culture treats teacher as an independent practitioner • Leadership perspective buffers teachers from consequences of their instructional decisions - Richard F. Elmore (2001) Center for Leadership in Education

12. Consequences of the Pathologies • Instructional culture is fragmented without connection to larger whole • Quality of instruction varies widely due to different experiences of teachers and their understanding of “good teaching” • Content students receive differs from classroom to classroom as each teacher sets priorities for what students ought to know - Supovitz & Poglinco (2001) Center for Leadership in Education

13. It is time we acknowledge that organizations demonstrate their assumptions about their fundamental purpose not through the words of finely crafted mission statements, but in the actions that dominate their day-to-day activities. Our real missions are communicated not by what we say, but by what we do. - Rick DuFour Center for Leadership in Education

14. Principles of Instructional Leadership for School Reform • Instructional leadership is the principal’s primaryrole • Every school employee must view him/herself as an instructional leader • Leadership requires adequate resources and the autonomy to use them in the most effective manner • Primary measure of leadership effectiveness is student performance Center for Leadership in Education

15. Principles of Instructional Leadership (continued) • Primary responsibility for student achievement lies with educators and parents • Political, business, and community leaders must share responsibility for effectiveness of educational enterprise in a more visible way • Leaders must create true learning communities in their schools and systems Center for Leadership in Education

16. “. . . [W]e need to move to an era in which leadership is an organizational capability and not an individual characteristic that a few individuals at the top of an organization have.” Edward E. Lawler III in The Future of Leadership, Bennis, Spreitzer & Cummings (2001) Center for Leadership in Education

17. Instructional Leadership…an organizational capability For teachers For principals For everyone

18. Leadership for teachers “Teachers typically define career satisfaction in terms of their ability to be of service to others and make a difference in the lives of students” (SEDL, Issues…, 1995) Center for Leadership in Education

19. Not “higher” or “superior” position or climbing career ladder • Not teacher of teachers TELLING others what works-doesn’t work • Not a Lone Ranger Center for Leadership in Education

20. A collaborative effort That breaks down barriers of isolation and fragmentation “Work with teachers, helping them imagine and create …reflect” “It’s personal… trying to connect to the teaching soul”, (Guiney 2001) Center for Leadership in Education

21. To create coherence.. • Making sense of what is happening and why it must happen • Engaging people “in processes that … form common ground about teaching and learning.” (Lambert, 1995, p. 29) Center for Leadership in Education

22. Courage to swim upstream • Resistance and criticism • High expectations for quick fixes • Stretching too few resources • Shifting currents (Goldberg, M. 2001) Center for Leadership in Education

23. Buoys of Successful Partnerships • Increased communication • Shared professional development • School and classroom visits • Deepened relationships and common commitments • Renewed energy and purpose Center for Leadership in Education

24. Next Steps… • Sustained networking and professional development • Ripple effect…within our schools and across our schools • Engaging our broader communities • Shared inquiry Center for Leadership in Education

25. Bedrock belief in what is right (Goldberg, 2001) “A person who does not have the courage to doubt may not have to wisdom to believe.” (Childerston, 2002) “Learners learn with more depth… when they are able to share ideas … and broaden their own perspectives.” (Lambert, 1995, p. 18) Center for Leadership in Education

26. Leadership for principals(NAESP, 2001) • Put student and adult learning at the center • Promote academic success of ALL students • Create and demand rigorous content and instruction • Create a climate for continuous adult learning • Use data as a diagnostic tool • Actively engage the community Center for Leadership in Education

27. For everyone… “Leadership is … a concept transcending individuals, roles, and behaviors … anyone in the educational community — teachers, administrators, parents, students — can engage in leadership actions.” (Lambert, 1995) Center for Leadership in Education

28. For our schools… The learning organization is a place where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured … and where people are continually learning to learn together” Peter Senge Center for Leadership in Education

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