DO PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORS MATTER? BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF AREA SUPERINTENDENTS National Principal Supervisor Summit May 2016
Our mission is to ensure high academic achievement for all children, especially students in poverty and students of color, by developing transformational school leaders and advancing the policies and practices that allow great leaders to succeed. We envision a day when there is educational excellence and equity in America – when our country’s public schools ensure that every student is prepared for success in college, careers and citizenship. 2
Agenda The Approach Theory of Action A Case Study: Oakland Unified School District Results
Our Approach 4
Our core work is developing instructional leadership, supported by the related skills that foster strong teaching and learning. 5 Student Achievement Instructional Leadership Personal Leadership Cultural Leadership Adult Leadership Operational Leadership Instructional Leadership: Setting the expectation that college and career readiness is the target, guiding teams through data-driven instruction analysis as well as observing and coaching teachers to improve teaching. Personal Leadership: Giving and receiving feedback and self-reflecting to continuously improve. Adult Leadership: Motivating teachers to believe in college success for all students and in their ability to realize this goal; building trusting relationships; giving constructive feedback; and leading effective meetings. Cultural Leadership: Building a learning orientation among teachers and students who continuously improve and take personal responsibility for their own development. Operational Leadership: Utilizing a set of systems that support strategic planning toward goals through the use of data sources and tracking.
All our programs include ample on-the-job practice, paired with expert coaching and feedback to support continuous growth. 6 THE NEW LEADERS LEARNING CYCLE
Theory of Action
We are helping to reframe the role of principal supervisors to focus on principal development rather than compliance monitoring.
We provide intensive and customized supports to principal supervisors 1.Communities of Practice (20): These sessions will provide the time and structure for principal supervisors to learn with and from each other. These community learning sessions are designed to: Help each individual and the group make meaning of knowledge, skills and practices; Build collective capacity within the group and across the school system; and Create a safe space where failure is an opportunity to grow and gain greater proficiency. 2.Learning Walks (5-8): We schedule group learning walks in schools, structuring these experience to enable participants to build a common definition of effective leadership, collect evidence of practice, and calibrate assessments of school performance. 3.Videos of Practice (5): To foster reflection, we ask members of the community of practice to record their practice. Videos might include: principal supervisors facilitating professional development, providing individual principals feedback or working with a principal and her/his leadership team. 4.Individual Check-ins (8): Each month, we conduct phone check-ins with individual principal supervisors to learn more about how they feel their work is progressing, hear individual updates and to provide personalized support.
Content Sessions Problems of practice Developing capacity around content Focus on the Instructional Core How to find evidence of the instructional core How to process evidence to determine importance How to take that evidence and determine a short and long term professional development plans Adult Learning Transparent Facilitation
Case Study
Oakland Unified School and District Demographics
Office of Post Secondary Organizational Chart
Results 14
Impact on Principal Supervisor Professional Development Principal Supervisor Professional Development and training offers impact in the following areas: Direct and responsive feedback to school sites and school leaders. Coherence and alignment in support offered to schools. Measurable growth in professional practice and coaching for both principal supervisors and principals.
My Supervisor asks probing questions that push my practice. My Supervisor uses evidence when providing feedback. Please think about how your Network/ Deputy Network Superintendent is supporting your growth and development. Rank how much you agree with the following items. My Supervisor is familiar with the challenges and current reality at my site. KEY Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree 90%85%75% 86% 80% My Supervisor helps me determine concrete and actionable next steps. My principal and I collaboratively determined my two Professional Growth Goals.
Districtwide Data LGDS protocols ●Most LGDS protocols are rated between 75%-80% useful to very useful (up to 100% by NS and DNS) LGDS Goals 75% of principals state LGDS goals “reflect or very much reflect their priorities ●90% of principals state that their LGDS goals were collaboratively developed with their supervisor NS and DNS skills Principals Agree/ Strongly agree that their NS/DNS ●Is Familiar with Current Reality and Challenges (89% ) ●Asks Probing questions that push practice (75%) ●Uses evidence to provide feedback (85%) ●Develops Concrete Actionable Next Steps (80%)