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Instructional Leadership and the Charter School Principal
Marytza Gawlik

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Summary of Research  - What are the Obstacles

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Summary of Research  - What are the Obstacles

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Permeating every aspect of school life, the school principal is an educator, administrator, coach and mentor

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how to improve instructional leadership - Bing video

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Examples of Leadership in Action School Leadership TED Talk Leadership Issues in Schools Instructional Leadership Rubric Transformational Leadership School Transformational Leadership Model Funny Pictures of Leadership School Leadership Videos Using Data Effective School Leadership School Leadership That Works Inspiring Leadership School

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A principal's calendar is typically packed with obligations that can shift focus from what is debatably your core duty: instructional leadership.

It's an obvious challenge, but committing time to instructional leadership is significantly easier with clear strategies you can quickly reference.
To help, this guide contains:
The guide isn't one-size-fits-all. Use the aspects that best reflect your leadership style and school climate.

What's instructional leadership?

At its core, instructional leadership aims to improve student learning and teacher effectiveness.

As an instructional leader, you can use a number of methods to accomplish these goals. But they typically involve:

Student engagement

Coaching for teachers

Professional development for teachers

Managing schedules and the curriculum

Fundraising, resourcing and budget allocation

Not all strategies are created equal, though. According to a in Viviane Robinson's influential 2011 book meta-analysis of 30 studies Student Centered Leadership, leadership practices differ in terms of impact:

Throughout this guide, you'll find strategies that align with the above leadership practices, with particular emphasis on the top three.

1. Sit in classrooms more often

To inform the aforementioned leadership practices and specific strategies in this guide, you must visit classrooms more often.

Either announced or as a surprise, regularly watching your teachers teach will help you:

Offer corrective feedback

Work with them to create relevant goals

Hold targeted conversations and meetings

Provide professional development opportunities

Find common strengths and weaknesses amongst teachers and students

Furthermore, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) strongly recommends sitting in classrooms more often as a way to improve relationships with teachers, by virtue of showing investment in student learning.

2. Give "SBI" feedback

Sitting in classrooms will help you think of corrective feedback, but structuring it can be hard.

If this is the case for you, try the Center for Creative Leadership's "SBI" framework:

Following the framework, your corrective feedback will look like this:
While splitting your students up for learning stations on Monday, your instructions were short and didn't have much visual description. As a result, the students couldn't find their stations, taking up lots of time.
This structure will enable you to deliver specific, actionable feedback.

According to an oft-cited 2002 study , such feedback plays a strong role in improving the recipient's desires for future feedback, coaching and general improvement.

3. Model how to apply feedback

It's common for teachers to struggle to apply feedback, but you can model best practices to overcome this issue.

This isn't necessarily your teachers' faults, considering they get constant feedback - both explicit and implicit - from you, parents, students and the education world at large. It's no wonder people generally struggle to process all feedback, determined an authoritative management study .
In a professional development session or on a case-by-case basis, consider modeling how to:

Process feedback, recording the situation, behavior and impact for future reference and analysis

Brainstorm, or ask for, a solution that's relatively easy to apply

Use the solution, reflecting on its effectiveness and considering if a different solution is necessary

With a better understanding of how to apply feedback, your teachers will likely be more receptive to it.

4. Coach based on "will" and "skill"

Just like students, not all teachers require the same kind of instruction. Your one-on-one discussions should be more productive with this in mind.

Specifically, instructional leadership author Robyn Jackson writes that a teacher's needs are largely based on where she falls in this spectrum:

Pinpointing a teacher's will and skill levels is a first step in identifying appropriate resources for development and informing your approach to ongoing support.

5. Set SMART goals with your teachers

SMART goals are a clear vehicle teachers can use to drive professional development, aligning with Robinson's most effective leadership practice.

These goals are , Measurable , Attainable , and - meaning you can apply them to any quantifiable area of teaching and teacher education. For example, a teacher could set a SMART goal such as "Read Student-Centered Leadership , making three take-away points to use in class."

Specific and challenging goals, such as this one above, lead to higher performance than setting easy goals or not having goals, states an oft-cited literature review .

You may find that after completing a few, teachers will take more ownership of their learning and development by setting their own.

6. Write reflections

Not just for students, writing reflections - and asking teachers to do the same - has many benefits for teacher effectiveness and instructional leadership.
For example:

Keeping a journal about how your work helps others can boost productivity, according to a about professional fundraising , which found a 29% increase in hourly effort amongst study participants

Writing is essentially the practice of organizing and conveying thoughts; the more practice, the more your communication skills will improve

Recording notes about how to achieve goals and dreams is positively correlated with happiness and strong mental health, according to oft-cited 2001 research

So, finding time to write - and encouraging teachers to follow suit - can quickly pay dividends.

7. Reflect and plan as a team

Regularly sharing reflections and planning as a team can inform and empower your teachers.

To conclude a defined period in the year - such as summative assessments - hold a meeting wherein teachers share reflections about highs and lows. Then, prompt them to share feedback about what they, and administration, could improve for the next defined period of the year.

You can take 30 minutes afterwards to write an email to everyone in the meeting, summarizing feedback you received and stating your intention to use it.

Happy and informed teachers, effective instruction.

8. Expand your PLN

A stagnant personal learning network (PLN) inherently restricts your ability to lead teacher development.

To consistently cultivate your PLN, try to:

Attend workshops and conferences to learn and connect with other principals

9. Encourage culturally-responsive teaching

Especially important for buildings with diverse student bodies, culturally-responsive teaching can play a critical role in engaging and empowering learners.

The pedagogy aims to link content - from delivery to assessment - with students' ancestral and contemporary cultures.
Consider instructing your teachers about:
10. Implement peer coaching

Instructional leadership may be one of your core duties, but teachers can - and should - play a role in supporting your efforts.

Peer coaching is one way teachers can play a role. And it's hands-off for you.

Essentially, it involves two similarly-skilled teachers helping one another solve problems and complete tasks, learning throughout the process. Supported by an authoritative academic work about the subject, elements of effective peer coaching include:

Conducting initial meetings with the peers, establishing trust, goals and a meeting schedule between the two

Having a way for each peer to collect and submit data about one another, such as insights and results they've noticed

Allowing each peer to review the above data, applying it to future teaching efforts

It's easy to see how a peer coaching system that follows this framework can quickly improve teacher effectiveness.

11. Promote growth mindset

Teachers can increase the level and frequency of student achievement by instilling a growth mindset, says Carol Dweck - the Stanford University developmental psychologist who popularized the philosophy.

In a nutshell, the pedagogy focuses on helping students understand the values of effort and trying new learning methods. The goal of doing so is to cultivate their talents and abilities.

Instilling a growth mindset in your classrooms is challenging, but you can start by instructing teachers about these strategies:

Using diverse approaches - Exposing students to distinct instructional methods and strategies will help build a repertoire of skills to handle diverse challenges, says Dweck. Typical differentiated instruction strategies are key, as they allow students to develop and sharpen this repertoire.

Encouraging elaboration - During discussions, asking students to elaborate on their thoughts reveals what they do and don't understand, encouraging them to process content at deeper levels. This demonstrates a core aspect of growth mindset: Subject matter expertise isn't inherent, but developed.

Saying "yet" - The word "yet" can change disparaging sentences into positive ones, promoting growth, says Dweck. For example, "I can't do long division yet ." "I don't have the skills to answer this question yet ." When teachers hear negative sentences, they should encourage students to tack on "yet."

12. Stay positive

Staying positive is one of the most straightforward - yet difficult - aspects of leadership.

The study's authors point to the following approaches, which you can model throughout your daily duties:

These approaches certainly relate to actively promoting growth mindset.

But you must remember: It starts with you and spreads.

Downloadable print-out

Fill out the form to access a condensed, downloadable print-out of these 12 instructional leadership strategies to keep for easy reference.

Final thoughts about instructional leadership

These instructional leadership strategies are largely based on working more closely with teachers than you already do. That likely seems daunting, especially with your workload in other areas.
So, start small.
Consider dedicating about 10% of a single day, per week, to executing one or two strategies. Then, as this proves effective, devote time to more of the strategies.

You'll likely find yourself growing into a more effective, enthusiastic instructional leader.

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12 Instructional Leadership Strategies | Prodigy

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A principal's calendar is typically packed with obligations that can shift focus from what is debatably your core duty: instructional leadership. It's an obvious challenge, but committing time to instructional leadership is significantly easier with clear strategies you can quickly reference. To help, this guide contains: The guide isn't one-size-fits-all.

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Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck

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National Association of Secondary Principals

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National Association of Secondary Principals

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I still vividly remember my early years as an assistant principal and principal. Instructional leadership was a routine part of the job along with the budget, master schedule, curriculum development, meetings, emails, phone calls, and many other duties. With the evolution of social media, yet another responsibility was added to my plate in the form of digital leadership. The position of school administrator really requires a jack of all trades, master of none. This is why many leaders fail to live up to the most important aspect of the position, which is instructional leadership.

Even though I tried, the frequency of my teacher observations rarely extended beyond the minimal expectation. Not only was I not in classrooms enough, but also the level of feedback-provided through the lens of a narrative report-did very little to improve teaching and learning both in and out of the classroom. If improvement is the ultimate goal, then we as leaders need to put the most focus on elements of our job that impact student learning. Instructional leaders understand that management is a necessary evil associated with the position but not something that should come at the expense of improving the learning culture in order to increase achievement.

It is easy to just say that one should improve instructional leadership-or anything else for that matter. Below, I offer ten specific strategies from my time as high school principal that you can begin to adopt now.
Get in Classrooms More
This seems so easy, yet it remains a constant struggle. Begin by increasing the number of formal observations conducted each year and commit to a schedule to get them all done. We formally observed each of our teachers three times a year regardless of experience. Another successful strategy is to develop an informal walk-through schedule with your leadership team. I mandated five walks a day for each member of my team, and we used a color-coded Google Doc to keep track of where we visited and the specific improvement comments provided to each teacher.
Streamline Expectations and Eliminate Ineffective Practices
Begin with establishing a common vision and expectations for all teachers. We did this by using the Rigor Relevance Framework, which provides all teachers with consistent, concrete elements to focus on when developing lessons. Get rid of the dog and pony show ritual of announced observations. If lesson plans are still collected, ask for them to demonstrate what will be done two weeks into the future. Consider less of a focus on lesson plans and more on assessment. Collect and review assessments two weeks into the future.
Improve Feedback

Provide at least one suggestion for improvement no matter how good the observation is. There is no perfect lesson. Suggestions for improvement should always contain clear, practical examples and strategies that a teacher can begin to implement immediately. Timely feedback is also essential.
Be a Scholar
Being a scholar not only helps you as a leader to improve professional practice, but it also puts you in a position to have better conversations with your teachers about their own improvement. This adds a whole new level of credibility to post-observation conferences. I made a point of aligning every piece of critical feedback to current research.

As you come across research that supports the types of effective pedagogical techniques that you wish to see in your classrooms, archive it in a document that you can refer to when writing up observations. I spent each summer as principal reading, researching, curating, and adapting this research for use during the school year. It not only saved me time when it came to writing up observations, but it also greatly improved my relationship with my staff as the instructional leader.
Model
Don't ask your teachers to do anything that you are not willing to do yourself. This is extremely important in terms of technology integration in the classroom and professional learning to improve practice. If a teacher is struggling with their assessments, don't just say you need to work on building better ones. Either provide an example that you have created or co-create an assessment together.
Teach a Class
This can be accomplished regularly during the year or by co-teaching with both struggling and distinguished teachers. During my first couple of years as an administrator, I taught a section of high school biology. This is leading by example at its best. It also provides a better context for the evolving role of the teacher in the digital age. An instructional leader who walks the walk builds better relationships with staff and in turn will be in a much better position to engage staff in conversations to improve instruction.
Grow Professionally
Attend at least one conference or workshop a year that is aligned to a major initiative or focus area in your school or district. Try to also read one education book and another related to a different field such as leadership, self-help, or business. So many powerful lessons and ideas can be gleaned once we venture outside the education silo.

To compliment traditional means of professional learning, work to create or further develop a Personal Learning Network. Social media provides a 24/7 pathway to ideas, strategies, feedback, resources, and support that every educator should take advantage of in the digital age.
Write in Order to Reflect
Like many other connected educators, writing has enabled me to process my thinking, resulting in a more critical reflection of my work in relation to teaching, learning, and leadership. Our reflections not only assist us with our growth, but also can be catalysts for our staff and others to reflect on their own practice or grow professionally. Having teachers write a brief reflection prior to the post-observation conference is a great strategy to promote a conversation on improvement that isn't one-sided.
Integrate Portfolios
Portfolios were a requirement for my teachers and complimented our observation process nicely. They provided more clarity and detail on instruction over the entire course of the school year. Portfolios can include learning activities, assessments, unit plans, examples of student work, and other forms of evidence to improve instructional effectiveness. They can also be used to validate good practice.
Co-Observe
During the first quarter of each year, I co-observed lessons with members of my administrative team. This was invaluable for many reasons. For one, we were able to take advantage of two sets of eyes during observations, as some things will always be missed when done solo no matter how much experience you have. This also allowed me to work with my team to help them improve their own instructional leadership. It also helped me improve, as every conversation helped me to further reflect on what I saw.

Nothing is more important than ensuring quality learning is taking place in our classrooms. These ten strategies can be implemented immediately to improve your instructional leadership. Like all lists, there are many great strategies that I missed. With that being said, what would you add to the list?

Eric Sheninger is a senior fellow and thought leader on digital leadership with the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Prior to this, he was an award-winning principal at New Milford High School in New Milford, CT. A 2012 Digital Principal of the Year, he has authored six books, including the best-seller Digital Leadership. Follow him on Twitter (@E_Sheninger) or visit his website.

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10 Strategies to Improve Instructional Leadership

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I still vividly remember my early years as an assistant principal and principal. Instructional leadership was a routine part of the job along with the budget, master schedule, curriculum development, meetings, emails, phone calls, and many other duties. With the evolution of social media, yet another responsibility was added to my plate in the form of digital leadership.

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There's no doubt that instructional leadership requires the school principal to wear many hats. At various times, principals must be administrators, managers, diplomats, teachers and curriculum leaders, sometimes all within one school day. It is definitely a balancing act, and principals must be proficient in all of these areas, as well as able to fluidly move from one role to another.

Principals and school leaders continue to strive for balance and proficiency in their roles as instructional leaders. Among the reasons cited for a lack of proficiency and emphasis on instructional leadership in schools is a lack of comprehensive training. A deficit of time for executing instructional activities, unrealistic community expectations and a glut of paperwork were also cited as reasons for the shortfall.

Instructional leadership defined

Instructional leadership involves setting clear goals, managing curriculum, monitoring lesson plans, allocating resources and evaluating teachers regularly to promote student learning and growth. Quality of instruction is the top priority for the instructional principal. Instructional leadership is committed to the core business of teaching, learning and knowledge. Staff members should meet on a regular basis to discuss how to do their jobs better and ultimately help students learn more effectively.

4 instructional leadership skills principals must have

Four skills have been identified as essential for effective instructional leadership in principals.

1. Effective use of resources

It isn't sufficient for principals to just know their faculty's strengths and weaknesses. If specific resources can benefit the staff, the principal should be ready and prepared to provide them. They should also clearly recognize that teachers thrive on being appreciated and acknowledged for good performance.

2. Communication skills

Of course, instructional principals should be excellent communicators. Interpersonal or people skills are crucial to the success of a principal. They must be able to communicate their beliefs pertaining to education, including the conviction that every student is capable of learning. These skills inspire trust, spark motivation and empower teachers and students.

3. Serving as an instructional resource

Teachers rely on principals and other administrative officials to be sources of information related to effective instructional practices and current trends in education. Instructional leaders should be tuned in to all of the pertinent issues and current events related to curriculum, effective assessment and pedagogical strategies.

4. Being visible and accessible

Lastly, good principals should be a positive, vibrant and visible presence in the school. Modeling behaviors of learning, focusing on learning objectives, and leading by example are crucial to the success of an instructional principal.

In addition to these four qualities, a successful instructional principal should also have excellent planning and observation skills as well as proficiency in research and evaluation of both staff and student performance.

Instructional leadership roles: always evolving

The role of the instructional leader should also be expanded to incorporate a shift away from just "management," or working in terms of administrative tasks, and move toward an emphasis on leadership. In order to achieve this objective, a strong principal with solid ideas is not enough; success will require a redefinition of the role of the principal. Barriers to leadership must be removed by reducing emphasis on bureaucratic structures and procedures. Relationships must be reinvented.

The dramatically different role of the school principal as instructional leader has been described as one that must focus on building a vital community of learners. It also requires shared decision-making and, in a sense, getting back to basics. It will require the leveraging of time, the support of ongoing professional development for staff members, creating a climate of integrity, using resources to support a diverse educational game plan and, lastly, plenty of room for inquiry and improvement.

For principals to truly thrive in the role of instructional leader, they will have to work to liberate themselves from being mired in the bureaucratic aspects of teaching. They'll have to redouble their efforts in improving learning and teaching methods. Needless to say, improvement in instructional methods is a goal worth seeking. When successfully implemented, instructional teaching and learning allows students as well as teachers to create a more meaningful learning environment. Ultimately, it enables them to better control their destiny.

Tags: Educational Leadership, Leadership and Administration

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Four Instructional Leadership Skills Principals Need

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There's no doubt that instructional leadership requires the school principal to wear many hats. At various times, principals must be administrators, managers, diplomats, teachers and curriculum leaders, sometimes all within one school day. It is definitely a balancing act, and principals must be proficient in all of these areas, as well as able to fluidly move from one role to another.

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AMLE - Association for Middle Level Education

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"What's the point, Mrs. Adams?" asked Brian.

I will never forget the confused yet honest look on my 8th grade student's face when he asked me this question after I had concluded my riveting lecture about the causes of the Civil War.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Brian again repeated, "What's the point ... of our lesson?"

To be honest, his question both irritated and baffled me, as I wasn't sure how to answer it. I shrugged and told him the point was for him to know the information because it would be on the test.

It was 20 years ago and I was in my second year of teaching 8th grade Core, a three-period Humanities block of reading, English, and U.S. History in California. I began my teaching career for the same reason many other educators do - I wanted to inspire and teach students to reach their fullest potentials. The only problem was that I had shelves of textbooks filled with educational theory but still a nearly empty toolkit with which to accomplish my goal.

"What's the point, Mrs. Adams?"

To this day, Brian's provocative yet earnest question lingers in my mind. However, his question provided the impetus that pushed me to seek wisdom from Instructional Leaders (ILs) and examine and build my instructional philosophy and repertoire.

Teacher leadership comes in many forms and among the most influential in promoting student success and positive school culture are those educators who serve as Instructional Leaders. It has been said that great leaders do not set out to be leaders, they set out to make a difference; and that is particularly true when it comes to ILs.

Studies show that student achievement is directly related to the effectiveness of the classroom teacher but the million-dollar question is, "How does a teacher become effective?"

The golden rule in any leadership position is to develop and nurture positive relationships. Perhaps Ghandi said it best, "I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles, but today it means getting along with people." People do not want to collaborate with someone who is negative, confrontational, or critical, and successful ILs quickly learn that principle. First and foremost, they work to establish positive relationships with colleagues so learning and growth are possible.

Instructional Leaders also provide clarity, support, and resources for teachers to identify "the point" in our instruction and in our students' learning, thereby increasing effective teaching.

Since I have had the privilege of working with many skilled ILs, I know there are several habits they have in common that cultivate an environment that is conducive to learning, reflection, and growth for both students and teachers.

Habit #1-Instructional Leaders Understand Neuroscience

The young brain is very different from the mature brain and we see examples of it all the time in the learning environment. When Jeremiah makes a bad choice and we ask him why he made that choice, he almost always responds with a shoulder shrug and an, "I don't know."

The brain develops from the stem forward, with the last area of the brain to activate called the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC). The PFC, otherwise known as the Executive Functioning Center, is in charge of processing cause and effect, impulse control, attention span, organizational skills, and emotional stability.

Experts believe the PFC fully activates in the female around 20 years old. The male PFC often takes a little longer, fully activating in the mid-twenties. This has serious implications for educators as we sometimes place the same expectations on the young brain that we have for the mature brain, which sets our students up for failure.

The good news is that we can accelerate healthy brain development and help students develop the skills they need for success. When we provide students explicit instruction in literacy, communication and critical thinking strategies, reflection, social-emotional learning, and growth mindset, the neural connections in the PFC increase.

Instructional Leaders are knowledgeable in neuroscience and they provide professional development opportunities and resources to ensure routines, expectations, learning experiences, and assignments are developmentally appropriate, while simultaneously fostering healthy brain development.

Habit #2-Instructional Leaders Are Connected Lead Learners
As society changes, student and teacher needs change. From Standards Based Report Cards to PBL to 1:1 deployment, education is an evolving entity. It is imperative that educators evolve as well. To remain current, effective ILs model and demonstrate the importance of continued learning.

Instructional Leaders are often involved in one or more professional education organizations, such as AMLE, and are also connected to other educators via social media, such as Twitter. They may also facilitate staff book studies, Tech Tuesdays, webinars, and collaborative analysis of student work. These opportunities provide continued growth, collaboration, and networking with others in and outside our districts and maximize our resources and learning capacity.

Habit #3-Instructional Leaders Support Content AND Comprehension Instruction

Instructional Leaders know that effective teaching is not rocket science ... it is far more complicated.

Making school relevant to our students requires that we teach students both content AND comprehension. Many educators have heard a teacher lament, "I don't have time to teach comprehension because I'm too busy covering math standards." If a teacher believes his only role is to cover content, the teacher is doing a disservice to his students because authentic learning requires comprehension.

An IL's expertise and instructional resources are invaluable in helping others develop the knowledge and skills needed to increase student achievement and independence.

For example, an IL may provide training and resources in how to teach note-taking, analysis, or supporting a claim with evidence. A few strategies that I am often asked to share are PDP Cornell Notes, Somebody Wanted But So, Close Reading, Episodic Notes and Exit Tickets. All of these strategies work well across the content areas and with all skill levels. More importantly, when students are explicitly taught how to use strategies, they develop competence and confidence and retain the comprehension strategies, resulting in more self-reliance and less teacher dependence.

Effective teaching and learning requires competence, confidence, and comprehension. Instructional leaders provide the support in which to meet those goals.

Habit #4-Instructional Leaders STOP, Collaborate and Listen

Instructional leader develop instructional leadership capacity in others by investing the time and effort to meet with novices and veterans to clarify what is needed for success to occur. They also provide the resources and support in order to encourage continual growth.

Habit #5-Instructional Leaders Promote Peer Coaching & Observation Opportunities

An effective way to evaluate and develop our skill sets is to participate in peer coaching. Unlike evaluative observations performed by administration, peer coaching focuses on colleagues observing each other a few times per year and analyzing data to encourage reflection and growth.

Peer coaches do not act as evaluators; they simply observe a lesson and collect data based on what the observed teacher requests. For example, Mrs. Smith has an instructional goal of incorporating more multi-leveled questions and 50-50 teacher/student talk time in class. She asks her colleague to serve as a peer coach to observe her class and collect data on levels of questioning used and the percentage of time both she and her students spend discussing the content. The peer coach will observe and collect that data and then give it to the observed teacher so she can reflect and make adjustments in order to meet her goals.

This peer coaching structure is not a formal observation that is evaluative or punitive; it is a collegial way to collect classroom data to determine if an instructional goal is being met. Instructional leaders provide the support to facilitate this learning opportunity.

Habit #6-Instructional Leaders Encourage Growth Mindset through Reflection

In her book Mindset, Carol Dweck shares the importance of developing a growth mindset in our students by reflecting on mistakes and persevering to make adjustments to increase success.

Instructional Leaders foster a growth mindset in colleagues by modeling and practicing reflection. Some valuable reflection questions include:

1. What was the content objective of the lesson?

2. What was the critical thinking objective for the lesson?

3. Were the objectives met? If so, what did students do throughout the lesson to meet those objectives?

4. What changes would you make to the lesson? Why these changes?

5. What are your teaching strengths and what would you like to improve?

6. How do you differentiate to meet the needs of both struggling and advanced students?

7. How do you promote positive relationships with students and colleagues?

8. How do you encourage students to learn from mistakes?

Instructional Leaders encourage the development of a growth mindset by helping colleagues to reflect on what works and what does not and then use that data to guide their thinking and instruction.

Habit #7-Instructional Leaders Adjust Support Based on Need

In her book, The Instructional Leader's Guide to Strategic Conversations with Teachers, author Robyn Jackson categorizes the four types of teachers as:

high will/high skill
high will/low skill
low will/high skill

low will/low skill

Just as we wouldn't use the same approach for each student, based on a teacher's will/skill level, an IL coaches a teacher to develop goals and provide the proper support based on the educator's needs.

For example, a high will/low skill teacher is often a new(er) teacher who has the desire to increase student proficiency yet may lack the knowledge or skills to do so at such an early stage in his/her career.

An IL crafts a personalized plan that includes learning experiences, training, and mentoring to help this teacher move into the high will/high skill range. Realizing the need to differentiate, an IL adjusts support based on a teacher's will and skill levels to increase teacher effectiveness.

After working with skilled Instructional Leaders, I better understand what my role is as a teacher. I am not a gatekeeper of information but a conduit who promotes content comprehension through critical thinking, debate, analysis, role-playing, synthesis, and reflection.

Upon reflection, I would teach my Civil War lesson from 20 years ago differently, and I would also answer Brian's question differently. Instead of lecturing about the causes of the war, I would have students read, write, act out, listen, draw, view, and speak about it and then provide them assessment choices to demonstrate their knowledge. I would begin by clarifying both the content and critical thinking objectives so that students understood "the point" of the learning experience. Most important, I would involve them in the experience itself and not relegate them to being passive bystanders to my "sage on the stage" delivery.

Instructional Leaders use many (or all) of these 7 Habits to provide resources, promote collaboration, encourage reflection, and support opportunities that cultivate instructional expertise, which positively influences student and teacher learning and effectiveness.

How many of these habits do you have?

Julie Adams is an NBCT and Educator of the Year who specializes in neuroscience, content area literacy, critical thinking, instructional leadership, and digital literacy trainings. Her most recent book is titled, Game Changers-7 Instructional Practices that Catapult Student Achievement.
effectiveteaching@sbcglobal.net
@adamsteaching
www.effectiveteachingpd.com Published inAMLE Magazine, October 2016.

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Instructional Leaders

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"What's the point, Mrs. Adams?" asked Brian. I will never forget the confused yet honest look on my 8th grade student's face when he asked me this question after I had concluded my riveting lecture about the causes of the Civil War. "What do you mean?" I asked.

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by James H. Stronge, Holly B. Richard and Nancy Catano

Beth entered the education profession as a middle school science teacher who wanted to make a difference in the lives of her students. After teaching for a number of years, she wanted to accomplish more than the work that she could do within her classroom and, thus, became a grade-level chair. Beth also worked on the district's science curriculum committee, and then began taking classes at the university at night to earn her administrative and supervision license. Beth was an outstanding teacher, and her first administrative position as the assistant principal for instruction seemed tailor-made for her strengths. Her instructional expertise and knowledge of curriculum provided her with a sound foundation for leading instructional efforts in her school. Beth's office walls looked like a strategic command center of data disaggregation and data tracking. She traveled through classrooms daily, observing instruction and student learning. Her observations helped her to identify classroom needs and strengths. She collaborated regularly with grade-level teams to monitor the needs of students and to determine strategies and resources that could better support students and teachers. And she continued to meet with students to talk about their education goals and progress. In essence, Beth is committed to make teaching and learning in her school the most positive experience it can be.

One major emphasis in the educational arena in the early 21st century has been the continuing demand for greater accountability to increase student performance. National and state expectations require schools to ensure that all students achieve mastery of curriculum objectives, and local schools focus on implementing those requirements to the best of their ability. As a result, leading instructional efforts in a school has evolved into a primary role for school principals.

In order to meet the challenges associated with national and state expectations, principals must focus on teaching and learning-especially in terms of measurable student progress-to a greater degree than heretofore. Consequently, today's principals concentrate on building a vision for their schools, sharing leadership with teachers, and influencing schools to operate as learning communities. Accomplishing these essential school improvement efforts requires gathering and assessing data to determine needs, and monitoring instruction and curriculum to determine if the identified needs are addressed. This chapter summarizes existing research related to instructional leadership and methods principals use to exhibit and harness that leadership to meet their school goals. In particular, we focus on the following goals:

Building and sustaining a school vision

Sharing leadership

Leading a learning community

Using data to make instructional decisions

Monitoring curriculum and instruction

Figure 1.1 outlines key references relating to these elements of instructional leadership.

Figure 1.1. Key References for Instructional Leadership

Building and Sustaining a School Vision

If you are not sure of where you want to go, how will you ever get there? Furthermore, how will you know when and how to take corrective action along the way? And how will you know when you've arrived at the destination? A successful principal must have a clear vision that shows how all components of a school will operate at some point in the future. Having a clear image of their schools helps principals avoid becoming consumed by the administrative requirements of their jobs. In fact, principals may need two types of vision: one vision of their schools and the roles they play in those schools, and another vision of how the change process will proceed (Manasse, 1985).

Clearly, multiple role expectations exist for school leaders. All schools need principals to exercise their roles as instructional leaders who ensure the quality of instruction (Portin et al., 2003). Thus, there is a need to spend time in classrooms observing the process of teaching and learning while also balancing other needs such as student safety and parent relationships. Fulfilling these multiple responsibilities well requires principals to possess an inner compass that consistently points them toward the future interests of the school, never losing sight of their schools' visions, missions, and goals.

Successful principals understand that it is important to establish clear learning goals and garner schoolwide-and even communitywide-commitment to these goals. The development of a clear vision and goals for learning is emphasized by principals of high-achieving schools (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003). They hold high expectations that teachers and students will meet these goals and hold themselves accountable for the success of the school. These principals provide emotional support for teachers and are viewed as possessing the ability to foster positive interpersonal relationships. They protect instructional time by limiting loudspeaker announcements and scheduling building maintenance to minimize disruptions. They ensure that student progress is monitored through the continual aggregation and disaggregation of student performance data that are directly related to the school's mission and goals. Principals of high-achieving schools are confident that they will accomplish their vision and goals despite challenges and setbacks and, thus, serve as role models for staff and students (Cotton, 2003). And when milestone achievements are reached, those successful results are celebrated.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the research related to the role of the principal and building and sustaining the school's vision:

First and foremost, principals need to have a clear vision for their schools (Manasse, 1985; Zmuda, Kuklis, & Kline, 2004).

Schools need principals who strive to ensure the quality of instruction in their schools (Harris, 2007; Marzano et al., 2005; Portin et al., 2003).

Principals of high-achieving schools expect teachers and students to meet the schools' goals (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003).

Principals of high-achieving schools are confident that their schools can meet their goals (Cotton, 2003).

Principals who focus on school improvement have more effective schools (Shen & Hsieh, 1999).

Principals of high-achieving schools communicate to all stakeholders that learning is the school's most important mission (Cotton, 2003; Marzano et al., 2005).

Sharing Leadership

Guiding a school staff to reach a common vision requires intensive and sustained collaboration. After all, it is the expertise of teachers upon which any quality educational system is built. Wise principals know that going it alone makes meeting instructional goals virtually impossible. A key responsibility of school leaders is to sustain learning, and this can best be accomplished through leading learning endeavors that are focused on long-term outcomes rather than short-term returns. Additionally, distributing leadership throughout a school and providing for leadership succession are indispensable to a school's success (Hargreaves & Fink, 2003). "Leaders influence others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how. This process requires the facilitation of individual and shared efforts to accomplish common objectives" (Kyrtheotis & Pashiardis, 1998b, p. 3).

Tapping the Expertise of Teacher Leaders

There is no evidence of troubled schools turning around without the influence of strong leadership. Effective leadership sets the direction and influences members of the organization to work together toward meeting organizational goals. Principals can accomplish this essential responsibility by providing individual support, challenging teachers to examine their own practices, and securing models of best practice. Additionally, effective principals develop and depend on leadership contributions from a variety of stakeholders, including teachers and parents (Leithwood et al., 2004). As key instructional leaders, principals share their leadership with teachers to promote reflection and collaborative investigation to improve teaching and learning. Subsequently, teacher leaders lead change from the classroom by asking questions related to school improvement, and they feel empowered to help find the answer (Reason & Reason, 2007).

In practical terms, principals talk to teachers, provide staff development, and support lifelong learning about teaching and learning (Blase & Blase, 1999). They also create opportunities for teachers to work together and share teaching practices with one another. What they tend not to do, however, is to exhibit directive leadership styles (Mendel, Watson, & MacGregor, 2002). Consequently, principals are not the only instructional leaders in a school.

In sharing leadership, principals collaborate with teachers to evaluate issues related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. As part of this collaborative process, teacher leaders provide valuable insight and ideas to principals as they work together toward school improvement. Principals who tap into the expertise of teachers throughout the process of transforming their schools and increasing the focus on learning are more successful. And a valuable byproduct for principals who collaboratively focus on instructional leadership is that they are less likely to burn out (Marks & Printy, 2003).

Collaborating in Leading

Interestingly, some evidence suggests that female elementary school principals participate more actively in instructional leadership than their male counterparts. Also, they spend more years in the classroom before entering their first administrative post and, consequently, may possess greater knowledge in instructional matters (Cotton, 2003; Hallinger, Bickman, & Davis, 1996). Perhaps most telling is the suggestion that because female administrators tend to assume a major instructional role as central to their work, they shape teachers' attitudes regarding students' ability to master subject matter, thus, having an indirect effect on student outcomes through their teachers (Cotton, 2003; Hallinger et al., 1996; Hallinger & Heck, 1996).

The research shows that effective principals (both men and women) facilitate shared leadership and collaboration among their staffs to include the following:

Wise principals understand that they cannot reach instructional goals alone (Hargreaves & Fink, 2003).

Attaining school goals requires individual and shared efforts (Kyrtheotis & Pashiardis, 1998b).

Effective instructional leaders believe that staff should collaborate and openly discuss instruction and program administration collectively among all stakeholders (Blase & Blase, 1999).

Principals who distribute leadership across their schools contribute to sustainable improvements within the school organization (Hargreaves & Fink, 2003).

Highly successful principals develop and count on the expertise of teacher leaders to improve school effectiveness (Leithwood et al., 2004).

Principals need to create opportunities for teachers to work together (Mendel et al., 2002).

Principals need to tap the expertise of teacher leaders in their schools in order to enhance improvement efforts and results (Marks & Printy, 2003).

Principals need to function as the chief instructional leader of their school while balancing multiple responsibilities. However, to effectively foster student learning requires the exercise of distributing leadership (Tucker & Tschannen-Moran, 2002).

Related Resources: Danielson, 2007; Donaldson, 2007; Dozier, 2007; Harrison & Killion, 2007; Lieberman & Friedrich, 2007; Wade & Ferriter, 2007.

Leading a Learning Community

Today's principals must become role models for learning while continually (or at least regularly) seeking tools and ideas that foster school improvement (Lashway, 2003). Simply put, schooling is organized around two key functions: (1) teaching and learning, and (2) organizing for teaching and learning. Thus, it seems clear that school principals need to manage the structures and processes of their schools around instruction.

Principals as Learners

Effective principals make student success pivotal to their work and, accordingly, pay attention to and communicate about instruction, curriculum, and student mastery of learning objectives, and are visible in the school. Learning needs to occur throughout an organization, and principals need to become participants in the learning process in order to shape and encourage the implementation of effective learning models in their schools. To illustrate, effective principals don't just arrange for professional development; rather, they participate in staff training provided to their staffs. Additionally, good principals foster the idea of working together as a valuable enterprise because they understand that this kind of collaborative learning community ultimately will build trust, collective responsibility, and a schoolwide focus on improved student learning (Prestine & Nelson, 2003).

Teachers as Learners

Keeping staff informed about current research and practice and possessing a belief system that schools are learning communities are crucial to school success. Principals use a variety of staff development tools to focus awareness on research-based strategies that facilitate improved instructional effectiveness (Blase & Blase, 1999). In an effort to infuse instructional know-how across the entire faculty, the concept of an instructional leader needs to become broadened beyond that of increasing student learning. Principals also need to mobilize teachers' energy and capacities. This requires a transformation of the learning cultures of schools-a capacity in which effective principals are adept (Fullan, 2002).

To summarize, principals-that is, effective principals-support instructional activities and programs by modeling expected behaviors and consistently prioritizing instructional concerns day-to-day. They strive to become a learner among learners. Involvement in curriculum, instruction, and assessment are crucial to the idea of instructional leadership. As part of their ongoing instructional leadership responsibilities, effective school principals are highly visible through contact and interaction with teachers, students, and parents, thus promoting the concept of a learning community (Marzano et al., 2005).

Particular features of effective principals and their role in leading the learning community include the following:

Effective principals tend to the learning of all members of a school community (Lashway, 2003).

Effective principals also serve as participatory learners with their staffs (Prestine & Nelson, 2003).

Successful instructional leaders provide conditions through staff development that incorporate study of professional literature and successful programs, demonstration and practice of new skills, peer coaching, and use of action research focused on student data, and they study the effect of new strategies on students (Blase & Blase, 1999).

Instructional leadership requires a broader view that incorporates the expertise of teachers (Fullan, 2002).

Schools that work (i.e., that are successful by various measures) have leadership that provides meaningful staff development (Marzano et al., 2005).

Using Data to Make Instructional Decisions

Data sources inform and guide action, or at least they should. Without meaningful data it is impossible to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of school initiatives. Effective principals skillfully gather information that determines how well a school organization is meeting goals and use that information to refine strategies designed to meet or extend the goals. Thus, they find themselves in a constant state of analysis, reflection, and refinement. They challenge their staff to reexamine assumptions about their work and how it can be performed. Beyond the ability to successfully gather and analyze school data, principals need to possess basic skills for using these data for setting directions, developing people, and reinventing the organization. The use of appropriate data helps to maintain a consistent focus on improving teaching and learning, and, consequently, effective principals accept no excuses for lack of success to improve student learning (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003).

Many proponents of school improvement stress the importance of data-driven decision making. Today, school districts collect demographic, achievement, instructional, and perceptual data in an effort to improve teaching and learning. For example, information is gathered to diagnose student learning and to prescribe interventions that will best support students in need (Education Commission of the States, 2002). At the building level it is vital that principals employ data-gathering processes to determine staff and student needs.

The demands that accompany high-stakes testing compel principals to guide their schools to learn from their results and experiences. Doing so will lead to coherence within a school and offer better opportunities to sustain results. Additionally, continuous improvement requires principals to examine data and find means to address inconsistencies with expected results (Fullan, 2005).

Useful and properly mined data can inform staff about the gaps between desired outcomes and the reality of the results. Furthermore, this knowledge should result in changes in practice. Encouraging staff to collect, analyze, and determine appropriate actions based upon the results should be a collective enterprise. When staff members assume an active role in the data analysis process, it promotes solutions and actions for improving results (Zmuda et al., 2004), and facilitating the active involvement of all staff in information gathering and analysis is the prerogative of the principal.

A summary of key indicators of the role of effective principals and gathering and using data in their schools is listed on the next page:

Effective school leaders skillfully gather data and use them to determine school effectiveness (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003).

Continuous improvement requires an examination of the data (Fullan, 2005).

Greater results are achieved when principals encourage school staff to actively analyze data for improving results (Zmuda et al., 2004).

Related Resources: Brimijoin, Marquisse, & Tomlinson, 2003; Guskey, 2003; Marzano, 2003; Parsons, 2003; Schmoker, 2003.

Monitoring Curriculum and Instruction

There are good reasons to focus on school leadership. The importance of the principal's role has never been greater, taking into consideration national accountability standards for schools and the likelihood that principal job vacancies will increase in the near future. Not only do effective principals focus attention on curriculum and teaching, they also understand teaching and possess credibility in the eyes of their staff (Mazzeo, 2003). Schmoker (2006) suggested that too often school cultures discourage close scrutiny of instruction. He says that effective leaders can raise the level of importance by looking for evidence that curriculum standards are taught through the review of formative assessments, grade books, team lesson logs, and student work.

Principals support instructional activities and programs by modeling expected behaviors, participating in staff development (as noted earlier), and consistently prioritizing instructional concerns on a day-to-day basis. They strive to protect instructional time by removing issues that would detract teachers from their instructional responsibilities (Marzano et al., 2005). Moreover, principals in effective schools are involved in instruction and work to provide resources that keep teachers focused on student achievement. They are knowledgeable about curriculum and instruction and promote teacher reflection about instruction and its effect on student achievement (Cotton, 2003).

Visiting Classrooms

Principals build trust by supporting and nurturing teacher development by providing feedback that helps teachers to improve. This is more likely to occur when principals exercise the collegiality of leadership. Additionally, principals are in the best position to help teachers improve in areas of weakness and can accomplish this through observations and dialogue that shows respect for teachers as professionals (Cooper, Ehrensal, & Bromme, 2005). Ultimately, many principals spend too little time in classrooms or analyzing instruction with teachers. It is important to evaluate the quality of teaching in order to select and retain good teachers, which is discussed in more depth in Chapter 3. Principals must develop leadership skills that help them to build the intellectual capital that is necessary to make good curriculum choices, establish expectations for student work, and provide teachers with opportunities to learn the specifics of teaching well within their academic areas. As such, leadership skills and knowledge of instruction must be tied together (Fink & Resnick, 2001).

Monitoring the Curriculum

Some educators believe that if a school organization is not meeting curriculum expectations established by state and local policymakers, the problem is leadership. Principals must monitor how the curriculum is taught and participate in how it is developed. The knowledge that principals gain through this process can ensure that teachers understand the curriculum and have access to all the necessary tools and resources. They then can hold teachers, students, and themselves responsible for the results (Ruebling, Stow, Kayona, & Clarke, 2004). Not only do principals need adequate knowledge and skill to assess teacher performance, they also need a sense of self-efficacy that they can do so successfully. This is especially important when principals are faced with removing ineffective teachers. Knowing what is important about good teaching is different from the ability to use that knowledge well in stressful situations such as teacher removal. To do so successfully requires that principals are confident in their ability not only to assess the quality and effectiveness of teachers but also to take the necessary actions when instruction is weak (Painter, 2000). Evaluating teachers is addressed in more depth in Chapter 4. Existing research related to the role of the principal and monitoring curriculum and instruction indicates the following:

Effective principals possess knowledge of the curriculum and good instructional practices (Cotton, 2003) and, subsequently, focus their attention in their schools on curriculum and instruction (Mazzeo, 2003).

Effective principals monitor the implementation of curriculum standards and make sure they are taught (Schmoker, 2006).

Effective principals model behaviors that they expect of school staff (Marzano et al., 2005).

Principals are in a good position to support teacher effectiveness through observations and conversations with teachers (Cooper et al., 2005).

Principals need to spend time in classrooms in order to effectively monitor and encourage curriculum implementation and quality instructional practices (Fink & Resnick, 2001; Pajak & McAfee, 1992; Ruebling et al., 2004).

Teachers and principals feel it is important to have someone to steer the curriculum and prioritize staff development (Portin et al., 2003).

Teachers too frequently view classroom observations as a means to satisfy contractual obligations rather than as a vehicle for improvement and professional growth (Cooper et al., 2005).

In effective schools, principals are able to judge the quality of teaching and share a deep knowledge of instruction with teachers (Fink & Resnick, 2001).

An effective leader promotes coherence in the instructional program where teachers and students follow a common curriculum framework (Leithwood & Riehl, 2003).

Effective principals trust teachers to implement instruction effectively, but they also monitor instruction with frequent classroom visits to verify the results (Portin et al., 2003).

Related Resources: Armstrong, 2007; Wise, 2001.

A Final Word on the Power of Positive Instructional Leadership

Nothing in the principal's role is more important for ensuring successful student learning than effective instructional leadership. School principals who focus on a vision for their schools nurture the leadership capabilities of their teachers. Additionally, if their schools are moving in the right direction, they model effective leading and learning. Combining these efforts with using data appropriately, as well as monitoring what takes place at the classroom level, will increase the likelihood that schools will achieve their goals for student learning.

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by James H. Stronge, Holly B. Richard and Nancy Catano Beth entered the education profession as a middle school science teacher who wanted to make a difference in the lives of her students. After teaching for a number of years, she wanted to accomplish more than the work that she could do within her classroom and, thus, became a grade-level chair.

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Building System-Wide Coherence to Accelerate Learning for Every Student

Purpose and Implementation

In New York City, we are committed to deepening and expanding our shared commitment to equity and excellence to ensure that every student will be ready for the next stage of their education, and ultimately, their career and their future as empowered agents of change in their communities and world. The knowledge and skills required for students to thrive in the 21st century continue to rapidly change. The exponential growth of literacy demands is closely connected to our changing economy, labor market, and technological advancements.

We need students to be critical thinkers, capable of working with new information in order to solve unstructured problems, many of which we cannot yet anticipate. We must also acknowledge the lack of access and opportunity for historically underserved students.
As a system, our instructional priorities and practices need to shift to meet these changing demands with every student in mind.
The New York City Department of Education Framework for Great Schools represents what great schools must have. With the Instructional Leadership Framework, we are continuing to deepen this commitment - namely: rigorous instruction, collaborative teachers, effective leadership, and a clear focus on student achievement.
The Instructional Leadership Framework is a system-wide approach to:
Ensure that every school has the strategy and tools to continuously improve instruction, and provide our students with the rigorous learning experiences they all deserve, and

Take stock to identify what instruction every student is receiving, how they're receiving it, why they're receiving it, and how it can be improved.

The Instructional Leadership Framework combines research-based practices outlined in Teaching Advanced Literacy Skills and the tenets of Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education. We know that successful schools drive improvement through forming and empowering teams dedicated solely to instruction and leading instructional improvements. Though we know that sometimes these teams take on different names, for the purpose of this approach, we'll refer to these teams as Instructional Leadership Teams (ILTs). An ILT is driven by the belief that collective instructional leadership and strengthening teacher practice has the greatest impact on student learning.

The Instructional Leadership Framework supports leaders in planning, organizing, and streamlining their schools' work in order to ensure that every student in NYC experiences instruction that supports them in developing advanced literacy skills in learning environments that affirm students' strengths and their racial and cultural identities, while developing students' abilities to connect across cultures and think critically.

Action

Supporting diverse learners means providing strong core instruction. To get there, we need to make sure every student in every classroom is engaging with rich and inclusive curriculum materials and with appropriate assessments so that we understand and meet their needs. This by no means is an easy task, yet it is essential that we undertake this work in order to raise academic achievement for every student. This is the critical work at the center of the Instructional Leadership Framework.

As we engage students in learning through responsive and rigorous teaching, we must continue to shine light on two recurring challenges throughout our City: 1) inconsistent instructional opportunities to advance learning for every student and 2) a feeling of competing or disconnected priorities for the adults in the system.

Instructional Priority Areas

To tackle the first challenge, the Instructional Leadership Framework establishes three priorities, rooted in the research-based practices of Advanced Literacy and Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education:
No single priority can be achieved without creating a supportive environment and setting rigorous expectations for every student. The Instructional Priority Areas are

1. Strengthen Core Instruction

2. Know Every Student Well

3. Use Shared and Inclusive Curriculum

To address the challenge of competing priorities, we are asking every school to select one priority as an entry point into the Instructional Leadership Framework beginning in SY 2019-20.
Since all three priorities are deeply connected to one another and most impactful when aligned, we must eventually engage fully in all three to achieve higher academic outcomes for every student. Growth in any of these instructional priority areas will require that teams of teachers and leaders come together to take stock of current practices and make decisions to develop and modify their instructional practices. This is why adult professional learning is considered a driving force for ensuring these changes take place. Students learn and grow when teachers and leaders develop. The work of the Instructional Leadership Framework requires strategic planning and strong instructional decision-making - guided by teams of educators and leaders - to ensure that practices align with what is needed to strengthen the learning of every student and adult.

An implementation plan is outlined below for instructional teams to use as guidance for engaging in the work. All teams should start by building awareness and knowledge around the Instructional Leadership Framework and how it connects to other work already underway in schools. Implementing iterative learning cycles by making adjustments in structures, processes, and outputs along the way is a critical part of being reflective practitioners seeking to continuously improve and achieve outcomes to best serve our students.

Timeline and School-Level Implementation Plan

This work will take coherent and sustained focus on instructional improvement in every school. Some schools began implementation earlier this year via participation in Advanced Literacy Institutes PD series. While the journey each school will take is unique, the timeline below will serve as system-wide guidance as we engage citywide in the execution of the Instructional Leadership Framework.

View the Instructional Leadership Framework Overview to see the timeline, also provided below:

Implementation Period:

Awareness

By June 2019

Purpose: To build awareness across multiple stakeholders about the ILF and possible implications and next steps for schools.

Action: Begin to engage in understanding the purpose of the Instructional Leadership Framework.

Team Building

By June 2019

Purpose: To build or repurpose a strategic team within a school (i.e. with teachers and leaders), with multiple perspectives and sets of expertise, who will lead the planning, implementation and improvement of the ILF work across the school.

Action: Examine current shared leadership structures and identify an existing or new Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) responsible for enacting the ILF work.

Knowledge Building

By October 2019

Purpose: To develop a shared understanding of the work of advancing literacies in culturally responsive ways.

Action: As an ILT, engage in the study of the ILF Guide in order to develop shared understanding of the purpose of the Instructional Priorities.

Gap Analysis

By October 2019

Purpose: To consider the ways students are currently served by your school's assessment and instruction.

Action: Take stock of current instructional strengths, needs, and capacity.

Identify Instructional Priority Area & Develop Implementation Plan

By October 2019

Purpose: To decide on an instructional priority to focus on for the remainder of the year, align adult PL and development to that instructional priority, set improvement goals to guide your process across the year.

Action: Identify Instructional Priority Area of focus for the school year ( Strengthen Core Instruction; Know Every Student Well; Use Shared and Inclusive Curriculum). Develop Implementation Plan for SY2019-20 based on current capacity.

Implementation

School Year 19-20 and beyond (iterative cycles)

Purpose: Engage in continued cycles of learning focused on adjusting teacher practice to positively impact student outcomes.

Action: Implement iterative learning cycles, making adjustments in structures, processes, and outputs along the way towards identified outcomes.

Implementation resources will be launched in June 2019.

Instructional Leadership Framework Professional Development

As we embark on a system-wide approach, it is important that we have a shared understanding of the key principles informing the Instructional Leadership Framework.

The NYCDOE has created a webinar series aimed at supporting collective understanding across the NYCDOE, as well as to help schools as they engage in initial stages of the implementation timeline, specifically: awareness, team building, knowledge building and identifying an Instructional Priority Area.

This webinar series is intended for school leaders and their Instructional Leadership Teams. Teams can use the information presented in this webinar series to determine an instructional priority to select for the 2019-2020 school year.

View: ILF Professional Learning References
Fullan, M., & Pinchot, M. (2018). The Fast Track to Sustainable Turnaround. Education Leadership, 75(6), 48-54.

Lesaux, N. K., Galloway, E. P., & Marietta, S. H. (2016). Teaching advanced literacy skills: A guide for leaders in linguistically diverse schools. New York: Guilford Press.

New York State Education Department. (2019). Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. Retrieved from www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/ programs/bilingual-ed/1.16.19-cr-s-framework_a.pdf

Robinson, V. M. (2011). Student-centered leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Instructional Leadership Framework | WeTeachNYC

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Building System-Wide Coherence to Accelerate Learning for Every Student In New York City, we are committed to deepening and expanding our shared commitment to equity and excellence to ensure that every student will be ready for the next stage of their education, and ultimately, their career and their future as empowered agents of change in their communities and world.

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What is your process when you are engaged in instructional leadership with a teacher who is not open to the process or continues to make excuses and is unwilling to reflect on their practice?

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PowerPoint presentation pdf