High Stakes Leadership: The Imperative for Change

High Stakes Leadership: The Imperative for Change

Discussion of No Child Left Behind and Maryland's educational reform efforts

March 2002

Title I Partner Schools NetworkMay 21, 2002

Dr. Elizabeth Donohoe, Frostburg State UniversityDr. Mike Hickey, Center for Leadership in Education

Towson University

Center for Leadership in Education 2


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


Standards-based reform:

Schools and school systems—and the people who comprise them—should be held accountable for their contributions to student learning.


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


Major Impacts of NCLB

Annual Testing Academic Improvement Report Cards Teacher Qualifications Teacher and Principal Quality Technology


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


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


Achievement Matters MostReport of the Visionary Panel for Better Schools, January, 2002

1. Develop a state-wide K-12 curriculum

2. Align K-12 curriculum and assessment

3. Widen the focus of accountability

4. Make every school accountable for the performance of every child


Achievement Matters Most (continued)

5. Certify only teachers who can demonstrate high-level knowledge

6. Place the best principals and teachers in the lowest performing schools

7. Shift focus of principal to instructional leadership

8. Stop trying to buy educational reform “on the cheap”


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)


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)


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


Principles of Instructional Leadership for School Reform1. Instructional leadership is the principal’s

primary role2. Every school employee must view

him/herself as an instructional leader3. Leadership requires adequate resources

and the autonomy to use them in the most effective manner

4. Primary measure of leadership effectiveness is student performance


Principles of Instructional Leadership (continued)

5. Primary responsibility for student achievement lies with educators and parents

6. Political, business, and community leaders must share responsibility for effectiveness of educational enterprise in a more visible way

7. Leaders must create true learning communities in their schools and systems


“. . . [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)

Instructional Leadership…an organizational capability

For teachers

For principals

For everyone


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)


Not “higher” or “superior” position or climbing career ladder

Not teacher of teachers TELLING others what works-doesn’t work

Not a Lone Ranger


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)


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)


Courage to swim upstream

Resistance and criticism

High expectations for quick fixes

Stretching too few resources

Shifting currents(Goldberg, M. 2001)


Buoys of Successful Partnerships

Increased communication

Shared professional development

School and classroom visits

Deepened relationships and common commitments

Renewed energy and purpose


Next Steps…

Sustained networking and professional development

Ripple effect…within our schools and across our schools

Engaging our broader communities Shared inquiry


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)


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


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)


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


Documents

High Stakes Leadership: The Imperative for Change